Broken Lullaby
by emberelle
Summary: Things get complicated for Callen when a valuable witness they are assigned to protect turns out to be an abusive ex-foster parent. The team must race to rescue a scientist, prevent a bio-hazard, and save Callen from his own memories.
1. Chapter 1

_Author's Note: This was just a random plot bunny that hopped in my head, along with about ten others, so I wrote the plotlines all down and am getting to them one by one. I kind of liked the idea of Callen running into an old foster parent, and then I found the statistic that one in five foster homes are abusive…and this was born. I do not mean to offend anyone with this topic; if you do not like it, do not read. Also, I am not going to get too technical with the military procedure in this fic, so I might mess up who has jurisdiction over what o something like that. Please have patience! I welcome reviews, and hope you all enjoy this. _

_Disclaimer: I do not own, sadly. _

_NCISLA NCISLA NCISLA _

It was an unusually quiet morning in the bullpen. The team had no active cases requiring immediate attention and all four members of the unit were working on paperwork. Of course, Sam and Callen defined paperwork as playing hoops with wads of paper and the trash can, but no one really dared correct them.

Kensi cocked her head at them. "Who's winning?"

"I am." Both men said at the exact same time. Deeks looked up, getting interested in the game.

Kensi laughed. "Really? It's a tie, then?"

Callen tossed the ball of paper lightly and it dropped in the trash basket effortlessly. "No…I am winning."

"By one point. Don't spike the ball just yet." Sam countered.

Deeks looked at Kensi. "My money's on Sammy-boy here."

"You did not just call me Sammy-boy."

"Hey, I was trying to give you a compliment." Deeks protested.

Kensi interceded. "I'll take that bet."

"Thank you, Kensi." Callen said in satisfaction. "You obviously have good instincts."

A sharp whistle from the upper deck startled the team from the game. The agents went into action, knowing the shrill signaled a new case.

"This isn't over, G." Sam warned.

"I'm looking forward to wiping the floor with you when we're done." Callen countered as they entered the Op center.

Hetty was standing in front of the big screen, face pensive. "Glad to see you could join us, agents. Ms. Jones, Mr. Beal and I were about to begin without you." She smiled slightly indulgently. "Mr. Beal? If you could roll the clip?"

Eric obediently started a grainy video-from a street camera, Callen guessed. A black van was pulling up to a street corner slowly; an automatic red flag as far as the agents were concerned. They saw a masked man jump out and try to grab a man walking down the street. There was a struggle, and they heard the sharp report of gunfire. The abduction victim still seemed to be struggling and managed to rip off the man's mask. Apparently, the kidnapper managed to get the man inside the van and the car sped away, not leaving a clear shot of his face.

"What are we seeing here, Hetty?" Callen asked.

"We are seeing the abduction of one Dr. Andrew Frement, a scientist working on a highly classified chemical experiment. He slipped his protection detail yesterday morning for some privacy, and this was the result."

Hetty motioned and Eric brought up the man's picture.

Kensi tilted her head. "He looks like a scientist."

"You mean he looks intelligent? Gifted? Clever?" Eric supplied.

"Pale." Kensi said, amused.

"Well, he certainly is all of those things; lack of pigment aside, he is one of the most valuable assets of Operation Tayga. He holds classified material in his head worth millions. And I am not just talking about dollars, team." Hetty said gravely. "If his information falls into the wrong hands before Operation Tayga can be put into effect…it could cost many their lives."

"So, our mission is to recover Dr. Frement?" Kensi asked for clarification.

"Only partially. That is, of course, our main focus and most important goal. But we have a witness to this kidnapping. A witness that saw the kidnapper's face and could identify him again. A witness that, unfortunately, was seen by the kidnapper; someone took a shot at him this morning. He has asked for our protection in return for his cooperation. I would prefer two of you to be with him at all times; but certainly at least one."

The team nodded, and Callen spoke up. "What do we have on the van?"

"Plates come up as stolen six months ago, and we can't find it on any of the traffic cams or satellite images yet." Eric reported. "We also couldn't get a clear shot of the guy's face after his mask was ripped off, but that is why we have a witness, I guess."

"Speaking of, what do we have on the witness?" Kensi asked.

Eric just shook his head. "Not much; he called us just an hour ago. His name is Dennis Kimball, and he was pretty shook up. He is still at his house, waiting for someone to pick him up. I texted his address to your cell phones."

"Deeks, Kensi, go pick him up. Sam and I will see what we can dig up on this Dr. Frement and this Operation Tayga. Eric, keep looking for that van." Callen directed everyone, purpose lighting up his face. Hetty smiled slightly to herself as the team jumped to follow his orders. She had taught him well.

Deeks and Kensi exited the Op center quickly as Callen crossed his arms and looked at Sam. His pensive expression was mirrored in his partner's face.

"What does Operation Tayga pertain to?" Callen mused.

Eric spoke up quickly. "Nell and I have been digging, but all we can really find is that it has something to do with a chemical weapon on a large scale. That was as far as we got before we got stonewalled. We can find out more, but it will take time."

"Great." Sam muttered. "I hate chemical warfare stuff. Hate it."

"I'm not exactly fond of it either." Callen shot back. "You said Dr. Frement had a protection detail. Who is in it?"

Eric started typing as Nell started speaking, voice tinged with anxiety.

"Guys…I haven't seen something buried this deep in years…maybe ever. Whatever this is, it is huge. And dangerous."

"What are you saying, Ms. Jones?" Hetty seemed concern.

Nell seemed to shake herself. "I am not sure. Just…be careful, I guess." She said quietly.

Callen shot her a reassuring smile. "We always are."

"_I_ always am." Sam corrected. "And don't worry, Nell. I'll keep him out of trouble." The analyst relaxed.

"Got it!" Eric said in triumph. "There were three people involved in the protection detail, all from Department of Defense. They all check out, called in that Frement slipped them as soon as they discovered it; statements all match up but aren't rehearsed as far as anyone can tell. They look squeaky clean."

"If DoD is getting involved, and not telling anyone else…this has to be big." Sam commented.

"I thought America didn't usually use chemical weapons?" Nell said.

"We don't. But that doesn't mean we don't do research to find vaccines." Sam said.

"And that research goes both ways." Callen added grimly. "If this doctor knew something, he can be forced to use it against people instead for them."

Eric tapped his iPad against his palm lightly. "I'm sorry; that is all I have."

"That's okay, Eric. Let's see what we can get from our witness." Sam said.

Hetty nodded. "I gave Agent Blye the keys to the safe house by the docks.You can meet them there."

"The dock safe house? That place smells like fish." Callen commented.

"More like reeks." Sam corrected.

"That adds to its protection." Hetty smiled slightly. The two agents shook their heads and laughed, then headed there as Hetty dismissed them. Something in her face showed she was distracted.

"I know that name." She said absently to Eric and Nell.

"Frement?" Nell asked.

"No…Kimball. Eric, pull up his file." She motioned and the computer tech hurried to do her bidding.

"Looks like he has a record." Eric said in surprise.

"For what?" Hetty said sharply, as if she already knew and didn't want to know.

"Looks like child abuse." Eric's voice was tinged with carefully buried disgust. "He got twenty years and served eighteen…got out on good behavior a while ago, I can find the exact dates-"

"What was the name of the child, Eric?" Hetty said, her voice defeated.

"Hold on…I got to break the firewall…there. It says it was a foster child he was in care of. Here's the original case file…oh my God." Eric suddenly broke off as pictures came on the screen. Nell looked at Hetty with wide eyes.

"Is that…"

"I knew I remembered that name." Hetty looked very small and tired as she answered. "Yes, Ms. Jones. That is Agent Callen, when he was ten years old."


	2. Chapter 2

_Author's Note: Thanks for the response for the first chapter! I hope you all continue to enjoy the story; I kind of like where it is going. Reviews are always more than welcome! _

NCIS: LA NCIS: LA

As they pulled up to the safehouse, Sam was rolling his eyes as Callen explained the pros of not having a bed.

"You never have to make it." Callen pointed out. "It's a time saver."

"But a back-breaker. How long do you think you can possibly sleep on the floor in a wore out sleeping bag without getting serious problems?"

"If the Indians could do it for hundreds of years, I can manage." Callen said defiantly and looked around cautiously. Sam did the same, fuming on the inside at Callen's stubbornness.

"Whatever you say, Running Mouth." Sam pushed Callen playfully.

"Really? Running Mouth? I set you up for some serious wit there and that's the best you can do?"

"Hush, don't attract attention." Sam said, heading up the steps of the safe house, leaving an amused Callen to follow.

Callen stopped right inside as his cell phone beeped. Eric had found something and had sent a cryptic text that Callen was having trouble deciphering.

Sam nodded to Deeks standing guard by the door and headed into the dining room where the witness sat at the table. Sam observed the man carefully.

He was in his middle sixties, but he had a muscular build that belied his age. He had an almost cruel face and his eyes were mocking and malicious at the same time. He stood and shook Sam's hand, introducing himself in a very friendly manner. His handshake was stronger than many men half his age. Sam instantly disliked him and did not introduce himself back. As Kimball seated himself, Kensi came through the door with an annoyed expression on her face.

"I'm glad you actually stayed here this time." She said to the witness and turned to Sam. "Where's The Lone Ranger?"

Sam feigned offense. "Are you calling me Tonto?"

"Just calling them like I see them." Kensi shot back.

Sam smiled briefly. "He's trying to figure out our brilliant analyst's shorthand typing."

Kensi nodded in understanding. "I see you met our witness." She motioned to the quiet man.

Sam nodded as Callen came into the room. Sam turned to him and frowned at the change that went through his partner's face. Callen's jaw locked and his eyes went hard. Sam had seen Callen angry, but this was a whole new level.

"Well, well, well. Its little G Callen, all grown up." The man grinned sharply. "Look at you, playing lawman like a tragic hero."

Kensi and Sam both looked from Kimball back to Callen. The tension was so thick, they could almost see it.

"You." Callen's voice was rough and angry, actually scaring Kensi a little.

"You remember me?" Kimball stood and took a step toward Callen. Callen stepped back sharply. Sam frowned; Callen never backed down. He felt completely disoriented; what was going on with his partner?

"Kinda hard to forget." Callen answered.

Kimball grinned slowly. "Good." He flicked a glance over Callen. "You got muscles."

"You got grey." Callen shot back, and Sam knew the set of his shoulders. Callen wanted to run; Sam had only seen that in the tensest stare downs, and even then, Callen was usually calm and cool. Kimball was coming closer, and Callen was stepping back again. Sam had had enough and held a hand out to stop the witness from coming closer.

Kimball shot an annoyed glance at Sam. "Who's the boyfriend, GG?"

"Agent Sam Hanna." Callen's partner answered himself. "Ex-SEAL, NCIS Special Agent, and one of the few people between you and whoever used your front door as target practice. Sit back down, or things are going to get unpleasant." He was unsmiling and there was no trace of friendliness in his voice.

Kimball eyed the large man, and Sam realized how big Kimball actually was. He moved with the fluid grace of a man half his age and Sam had no doubt he could put up a fight. The Agent tensed, ready to fight, but Kimball backed down.

The man sat, then looked at Callen, who had remained silent through the exchange. "He's well trained, huh, GG? Or is he just protecting his toy?"

Callen took a step forward and Sam held an arm out to stop him. "Easy, man." He glanced at Kensi and noticed she was taking her hand off of her gun. It comforted Sam to know she had his back. He still had no idea what was going on, but he knew he had to find out before something exploded.

Deeks came through the door, holding his cell phone. "Guys, Eric wants us to call him-" He broke off at the scene before him. "What is going on?"

"Stay with him." Sam growled in the direction of the witness and pulled Callen out of the room.

"You're still running from your problems, GG? Doesn't surprise me!" Kimball yelled as the door closed.

"What was that all about, G?" Sam said, trying to look Callen in the eyes. His partner was looking everywhere but at Sam, and Sam could tell he was shaking. Sam almost hoped it was from anger.

"Well?" He folded his arms.

"Well, you need to call Eric. He found something important." Callen turned on his heel and walked out of the safe house, heading to the beach behind the house. Sam debated chasing him, but decided to let him go for the moment.

He called Eric, punching buttons on his phone with more force than necessary.

"About time! You and Callen need to get back here…now!" Eric sounded frantic.

"What's going on, Eric?"

"Well, two things, both huge. We got a hit on Kaleidoscope on the van, and most importantly." Eric took a deep breath. "You need to keep Callen away from our witness until Hetty can talk to him. Hetty's orders."

"Bit late for that, Eric." Sam said wearily. "Will someone tell me what the hell is going on with my partner?"

Eric paused. "I really, really want to tell you, Sam; believe me I do. But Hetty said I can't say anything until she has talked to Callen. So, please get him back here as soon as possible. And Sam?"

"What, Eric?" Sam noticed the weird tone in the computer tech's voice.

"You said Callen already met with the witness?"

"Yeah. And it didn't go well; I have never seen Callen that unsettled." Sam said anxiously. "What is going on?"

"Get Callen here and I can tell you everything. Hetty just told me to tell you to stick close to Callen. This is…its bad, Sam." Eric sounded almost in tears; something Sam had never heard before or ever wanted to hear again.

"Eric-"

"Just get here, Sam." Eric hung up.

Sam hung up his phone, his concern level heightened to danger levels.

"Sam?" Kensi said from directly behind Sam. He hadn't heard her come up. "Nell just called me and gave me this story on how we needed to keep Callen away from Kimball and for you two to get back to base. What is going on?"

"I don't know, Kens." Sam answered, watching Callen through the back window. He was standing on the isolated beach, staring at the waves and completely motionless. If Sam didn't know any better, he would think Callen was a statue. "But I am going to find out. You and Deeks up to protection detail for a few more hours?"

Kensi nodded. "Whatever it takes. I just want to know what is up with him." She inclined her head to the team leader, who had turned sharply and started walking to where they had parked the car.

Sam snorted. "Me too. Get the description, anything Kimball has to offer us. I'll…get to the bottom of this." He left quickly, leaving Kensi to follow his orders. It only took a few seconds to get in the driver's seat of the Challenger. Callen was already in the passenger's seat, eyes closed and face stony.

"You gonna talk?" Sam asked his backed up and got onto the road. Callen did not respond.

"Okay." Sam said. "Be that way, if you want. I'm here if you change your mind." Silence ruled over the car the rest of the way. As Sam parked, Callen literally bolted from the car, headed at a fast pace to Hetty's office. Sam made to follow him, but Nell intercepted him at the door. She seemed upset and excited at the same time.

"Hetty said for no one to disturb them until she is done." The miniature young woman folded her arms, effectively blocking the large ex-SEAL. "And, we need to show you what we just got on Kaleidoscope. You aren't going to believe this." She waved him toward the upper deck.

Sam looked over at Hetty's office for a moment. "Fine. But this better be good."

"Oh, it is." Nell smiled mysteriously. "All I can say is hold on to your hat. This is going to blow you away. Literally."


	3. Chapter 3

_Author's Note: This is a long chapter-longer than I really wanted-and I feel not too much happens. But please be patient! It will pick up soon, I promise! The next chapter will be from Kensi and Deeks's point of view, as they are still stuck with Kimball. Reviews are welcome, and much loved! _

NCIS:LA NCIS:LA NCIS:LA

"Sit, Mr. Callen. I cannot speak with you when you are pacing like that." Hetty motioned to one of the chairs in front of her desk, but Callen ignored them. He did stop pacing, instead leaning against a post and folding his arms. On the surface, he looked the same as he always did. Unruffled, icy, even. But to the trained person, or one that knew him well, they would see the tenseness of his muscles, the clenching of his jaw. And they did not have to be NCIS trained to see the anger burning in his eyes. Hetty took a breath and spoke again.

"Mr. Callen, I know. I know who this Kimball is to you."

"He is _nothing_ to me." Callen barked. "Just number thirteen."

Hetty's brow furrowed. "Number thirteen?"

"Foster home. Unlucky number thirteen. It's over. Done. History." Callen gave a half shrug. "He's a witness in my case. Nothing more, nothing less."

"If that were true, you would not look as if you wanted to kill something very messily right now." Hetty observed. "I saw the pictures, Mr. Callen. Something like that may become history but it is rarely 'done.'" She paused and watched Callen for a moment. "Why didn't you say something when we first mentioned him? Didn't you recognize the name? "

Callen gave a humorless laugh. "Dennis Kimball is a fairly common name; and I haven't seen or heard of the guy in what…thirty years? Let's say it slipped my mind." He shook his head and shifted slightly, studying his shoes.

Hetty nodded slowly. "You know I have to take you off this case, Agent Callen."

Callen's head shot up. "You can't, Hetty." His voice was strained.

Hetty blinked, unsurprised. Callen would never be benched willingly. She opened her mouth to insist but Callen cut her off.

"Did you read the file?" He asked sharply. Hetty was caught off guard.

"What?"

"You said you saw the pictures. That means you read the file." He prompted. Hetty nodded slowly.

"Then you know why I can't be taken off this case." Callen stared right at her.

Hetty nodded finally. "Yes, I do know."

"Then I am still on the case?"

Hetty frowned heavily. "You are at a conflict of interest. It violates every code in the book."

"Throw out the damn book! You've done it before." Callen snapped. Hetty pulled back, her face reproving.

"I hope you are not suggesting that I disregard the very policies I have been entrusted to uphold on a regular, or frivolous, basis." She said in reproach.

"Of course not, Hetty." Callen ducked his head, properly scolded. He tried a different track. "Look, this Operation Tayga has something to do with chemical weapons. That means it is a high profile case. The highest one we have right now. I am the lead agent for your ace team; benching me will lower your chances of success in this case by half. Maybe more."

"You are very proud of your skills, Mr. Callen." Hetty said, amused.

"Just stating the facts. Now, I know the agency has made exceptions in the past as long as the conflicted party has a buffer agent with him at all times." Callen looked desperate.

Hetty nodded. "It is rare, and only in cases where the agent's expertise is unparalleled or irreplaceable. Neither of which applies to you, Agent Callen."

"Hetty, _please_." Callen asked. "I am not at a conflict of interest just because I know the witness. If that were the case, I wouldn't have been able to work a third of the cases I have. Kimball isn't a suspect; he is an asset. There is no policy against knowing your asset prior to an investigation."

Hetty wanted to argue, but Callen had pinned her down. "Agent Callen, I am not pulling you only because you are _at_ a conflict of interest; I am pulling you because of the _nature_ of your conflict. Regrettably, this man is my responsibility, which means my agents have to be in close contact with him at all times. I don't know if you are up to that, quite frankly."

Callen walked over to Hetty's desk and leaned over. "Hetty, I am not ten years old anymore."

Hetty smiled slightly. "I am well aware of that, Mr. Callen. Remember; I take your measurements twice a month."

Callen did not smile, instead stared right at Hetty. "I can handle myself."

"I know you can."

"I don't need protecting."

"Are you sure you don't?"

"Are you sure I do?"

There was a moment where neither party spoke, just stared, waiting to see who flinched first.

Hetty finally sighed. "Fine, Agent Callen. You win this round. You may remain on the case. But if you give me one-_one_-reason to pull you off; I will yank you from this case. Understand?"

"I got it." Callen nodded.

"If I see any instance of your judgment being affected, I will pull you off faster than a speeding bullet." Hetty warned.

"I stopped playing Superman a long time ago, Hetty. I'll be fine. And if I find myself unable to do my job, I will remove myself from the case." Callen straightened himself up.

"I will hold you to that, Agent Callen." Hetty shook a finger at him as he turned to go. "And, Mr. Callen?" Callen turned slightly and indicated he was listening.

"If you ever want to talk about…that file, I have a fresh pot of tea brewing at all times."

Callen just nodded and walked away, heading up to Op Center. Hetty couldn't help but feel she had just made a mistake as she glanced at a file on her desktop. She had faith in her agent…but she wondered if that would be enough. In any case, she had a phone call to make.

Sam entered the Op center quietly, startling Eric into hiding something that had been on the big screen.

"Oh, hey…Sam…you're here!" The sandy-haired man grinned too wide and shot a desperate glance at Nell.

"Okay, Eric; we're here. Tell me what is going on." Sam folded his arms and looked down at the computer tech.

Eric looked like he wanted to disappear into the floor as Sam continued to glare at him. "Um…Hetty doesn't really want us to tell you too much…"

"Then give me the abridged version." Sam said narrowing his eyes and not breaking eye contact with the smaller man. Eric glanced at Nell again and swallowed. The redhead looked just as nervous as he did.

"Well, Hetty wanted us to pull up as much as we could on our witness, and we found out he had a record."

"And?" Sam sounded annoyed. "What does that have to do with me and Callen?"

"Just Callen, actually. See…Kimball went to prison for abusing a foster kid in his care." Nell supplied.

Sam suddenly understood. "Callen."

The computer techs nodded in unison.

"So Hetty wants to pull Callen from the case; she doesn't think he can handle it." Eric added.

"Callen can take care of himself." Sam said instantly, still processing the information.

"Well…he's never…this is different." Nell tried to explain.

"How different? How bad was it?" Sam asked.

Nell and Eric shared a look. "It was…pretty bad, Sam. The court file was bad enough, but Eric bypassed the Child Services firewall and found the full story. "

"Let me see. Where's the file?" Sam said in a commanding voice. Eric shook his head.

"Hetty stonewalled me, Sam. I just told you more than we should have. You may scare me, but Hetty petrifies me." Eric closed the big screen down and stubbornly ignored the glare the Agent was giving him. "That's all you really need to know, anyway. If you want to know more, you should talk to Callen himself."

"Eric…" Sam said threateningly, then broke off as Callen came into the communications center.

"I heard Nell say you got a hit on the van." He said without preamble. "What did you get?"

"Er…I don't know if I should show you if you are no longer on the case." Eric said in an almost calming voice, as if he were afraid Callen would snap at him.

"Agent Callen is still on the case, Mr. Beal." Hetty said, appearing seemingly from nowhere. "I would suggest you obey him. Roll it."

Eric looked surprised, but brought up a video on the big screen. "Okay; the van had just dropped off the grid, couldn't find it on traffic cams, satellites, nothing. Until about thirty minutes ago, that is; when I found this on a security camera."

The agents watched a video of the same black van from earlier drove onto a deserted dock from between two warehouses. A dark clothed, masked figure exited the driver seat and ran at a fast pace away from the vehicle. The figure had barely cleared the camera's focus when the van exploded in a fireball.

"And there goes any physical evidence." Callen said, frustration tingeing his words.

"Not quite." Nell said with a smile. "LAPD was on scene in minutes, and found something _very _interesting."

"What?" Sam asked.

"There was a box in the back of the van. Somehow it survived the blast; it was made of this super heavy duty stuff similar to a black box on a plane. Anyway, they got it open and found some papers."

"Papers?" Callen asked, frowning. "What kind of papers?"

"There were pictures, background information and what looks like a compiled schedule of one Dr. Andrew Frement. There also some other pages written in code; Eric and I are working on cracking it." Nell seemed pleased.

"From what Nell and I have found so far, it looks like they have been planning this a long time. There were some taped conversations, but the heat from the blast damaged them." Eric added.

"Someone was covering their tracks." Sam said in understanding. "A schedule and information like they have could only come from an inside person."

"We need to talk to the members of Frement's protection detail." Callen said. "Eric, get us their information."

"I will have to cut through some red tape; the original report didn't list their names, just statements."

"Do it." Hetty ordered. Eric instantly started typing. Sam shook his head.

"I don't get how the van could have avoided Kaleidoscope for that long."

Nell nodded. "Eric and I have a couple theories about that; we will get back to you as soon as we have something new."

"Good work, guys." Callen said, and everyone looked at him in mild surprise. He rarely complimented anyone before a case was closed, and even then it was rare. His face was thoughtful and carefully closed. "It would be helpful if we knew exactly what Frement was working on; we would at least know what we were dealing with."

Hetty cleared her throat. "I do not climb those stairs for my health; I came up here to tell you that I called in an old favor at the Department of Defense. They are sending a man over to read us in-at least partially- on Operation Tayga. He will be at the boathouse shortly."

Sam and Callen glanced at each other in relief. "Thank you, Hetty. That will be a big help." Callen said.

"Don't mention it." Hetty waved a hand with a half smile. "Now, get to work."

The two agents moved to leave, but Hetty waved Sam to stay back. "Agent Hanna? I would like to speak with you a moment."

Callen frowned slightly as he glanced at Hetty. "I'll meet you at the car." He left the Op center as Hetty shook her head.

"Agent Hanna, am I right in assuming my capable analysts filled you in on Mr. Callen's…situation?"

"They didn't tell me much." Sam said, shooting a glare at the two.

"They were ordered not to. While Eric and Nell are able into hack into his past, Mr. Callen should be able to decide who knows what about him. He is entitled to that much privacy. I will not have them spilling his secrets to anyone. Not even you, Agent Hanna. So do not coerce them into doing so. Is that clear to all of you?"

The two-fold rebuke caused all the assembled employees to drop their eyes. Hetty nodded. "Good. Against my better judgment, I am allowing Mr. Callen to be on this case; but I am worried about him. Stick close to your partner, but do not push him. I understand he has already been confronted by Kimball?"

Sam nodded.

"I was afraid of that. I want you to watch Agent Callen carefully, especially when he is around Kimball. We, unfortunately, need Kimball as an asset. We have to protect him from whoever is responsible for this kidnapping; I do not want to be worried about protecting him from my own agents, or protecting one of my agents from him."

"Hetty, Callen can handle himself." Sam said respectfully, but slightly irritated.

"So everyone keeps reminding me." Hetty said with a sigh. "Just…make sure he can. Go, Agent Hanna." She waved her hand dismissively. Sam headed for the door.

"And, Mr. Hanna?"

Sam turned back.

"Remember. No pushing." She said emphatically. "He's already on the edge. We wouldn't want him jumping off."

Sam nodded slowly and kept walking.

Hetty frowned again. Yes…she definitely felt like she made a mistake. But maybe everything would work itself out. For Callen's sake, she hoped so.


	4. Chapter 4

_Author's Note: Another longish chapter, but we will start to see a little bit into Callen's past. I don't much like the ending of this chapter, but it was the only place I could break cleanly. Reviews are loved and my inspiration. Love you all! _

_Disclaimer: 'Operation Tayga', its description, and plotline are completely fictitious; any reference to past or present military operations or procedures is unintentional and unplanned. I also do not own NCIS, the characters, or anything recognizable. I make no profit from this. _

NCIS:LA NCIS:LA NCIS:LA

Kensi slammed the bag of fast food down in front of Kimball and glared at him. "Eat this. And stay in the building this time." She snapped. "That is third time I caught you out back."

"You put me next to that beautiful beach and expect me to resist it?" Kimball asked innocently as he started digging through the bag.

"I expect you to follow my orders if you don't want to wind up with a bullet between your eyes." Kensi said with little emotion. Kimball shook his head and looked at Deeks.

"She always this bossy?" He asked.

"Oh, you have no idea." Deeks said with a slight grin. Kensi shot Deeks a playfully offended look and swatted his shoulder.

"Someone has to watch out for you two. Does anyone besides me know what the term 'safehouse' mean?" She sighed in frustration. Deeks glanced at her and gave an almost imperceptible nod. He knew she was still rattled about the brief but intense confrontation earlier. Deeks tilted his head toward the door and made the 'call me' symbol with his fingers and raised them to his face.

"Isn't it time to check in with Hetty?" He said, his words laced with double meaning. Kensi understood that he was giving her a chance to find out what was going on. She nodded at him gratefully and stepped out into the hallway and closed the door. She decided to kill two birds with one stone and double check the windows and doors on both floors of the house. As she walked casually through the house checking locks, she pulled out her cell phone and dialed the only one that would probably let her know what was going on.

"Nell? It's Kensi. I have some questions and I want answers."

Deeks leaned against the wall of the heavily curtained dining room and watched their witness nonchalantly. It was only a few moments before the silence became marked in the room. It unsettled Deeks, but Kimball seemed fine with it. He ate casually, portraying that he was in complete control of his situation. He stood and crossed over to the window. He pulled back the curtain and Deeks grunted.

"Back away from the window, please. I would rather not have a dead asset on my record. Or an angry Kensi Blye on my back for allowing you to get shot."

Kimball sighed theatrically and let the blackout curtain fall back in place. "I didn't realize helping you guys meant I was a prisoner."

"You are not a prisoner, Kimball; we are trying to keep you safe. You can go anywhere you want inside the house, you just have to stay away from the windows and not go outside. Those are the rules. That's it." Deeks struggled to keep his patience; he had been parroting the guidelines all morning. Kimball shook his head.

"Fine." He walked out of the dining room into the den right next to it. He sat in front of the television and flicked it on. Deeks followed the man and leaned against the wall again. Kimball seemed to get bored with the show selection and started talking.

"So, you work with GG, huh?" He said it quietly, with a strange bite to the words.

For some reason Deeks felt resentful of the obviously acidic pet name Kimball kept calling his friend. "Yes, I work with _Agent Callen_." He stressed pointedly.

"Agent Callen, oh please." The man laughed strangely. "How desperate did they have to be to give _him _a badge?"

"Agent Callen is one of the finest agents NCIS has." Deeks retorted. "You should show him more respect."

Kimball looked around exaggeratedly. "I don't see the kid here. And I would think you would have more important things to do than defend his honor. Like keeping _me_ alive." He laughed arrogantly. Deeks swallowed and resisted the urge to throttle the man.

"So, did you or sweet cheeks out there run that description I gave you?" Kimball asked with high interest.

"_Agent Blye_ sent the description to our analysts an hour ago. They will be sending some pictures of known criminals matching the outline over with our replacements." Deeks said as calmly as he could.

"Wait, you guys are leaving?" Kimball sounded tense.

"Yes. Agents Hanna and Callen will be relieving us in about an hour." Deeks stated. Something flickered in Kimball's eyes that made Deeks nervous suddenly.

"Oh, little GG is coming back for round two? That will be fun." Kimball laughed; the meanest sound Deeks had ever heard. The detective opened his mouth to reply when Kensi appeared in the doorway.

"Deeks." That one word was loaded with meaning. Kensi looked more upset than Deeks could remember. She shot a look of pure loathing at Kimball, and the man's face hardened.

"Kens? What's wrong?" Deeks asked in concern.

"I need to talk to you. Now." She jerked her head over her shoulder. "Alone."

Deeks followed her into the main area of the house; far enough away from their asset they could not be overheard.

"What's wrong, Kens?" He repeated as his partner folded her arms and looked at him.

"I just called Nell to see if she knew anything about that blowup earlier. It was like pulling teeth to get her to tell me anything, but apparently Hetty approved her to tell me the bare bones. Which isn't very much; in fact, it is just enough to make me mad but give me no information whatsoever-"

"Kensi, you're rambling. Just tell me what is going on." Deeks grabbed her shoulders and stared at her.

"Okay. Apparently Nell and Eric found Kimball's record."

"Kimball went to jail." Deeks said, processing. "I am with you so far…"

"For eighteen years. For child abuse."

Deeks flinched. "Bastard." His knee jerk response didn't surprise Kensi at all, considering his own experiences with abuse. "But what does that have to do with Cal-"

"It was Callen." Kensi said in a rush.

Deeks looked like he had been slapped as shock worked through his brain. "You mean…we are protecting…someone that not only hurt a kid…but Callen?"

Kensi nodded, fury taking hold in her own face. "That about sums it up."

"Oh, don't look so depressed, Deeks." Kimball's voice made the agents spin around. The asset was standing behind them. "I' m not such a bad guy, once you get to know me." He grinned cheekily.

"You are damn lucky we need you, or I'd let you die." Kensi said in a low, threatening voice.

"Oh, come on, Kensi-doll." Kimball shrugged. "That was a long, long time ago; and honestly, the brat deserved it. He needed some toughening up. Looks like he still does, if he has a girl fighting his battles for him."

Kensi started breathing very deeply and Deeks knew she was a second away from snapping. He spoke up quickly.

"Let me give you some advice, buddy." Deeks tone was icy and anything but friendly. "I would quit while you are ahead."

Kimball smirked but stayed silent. There was a tense moment as all three stared at each other, no one wanting to be the first to look away. Deeks's cell phone suddenly buzzed and the detective reluctantly answered it.

"Deeks." He barked into the phone.

"Easy, killer." Sam sounded amused. "Has Kensi been rattling your cage?"

"Not her." Deeks said, keeping one eye on Kimball, who seemed too calm for Deeks's liking. Deeks finally walked out of the room to talk to Sam without being overheard.

"Oh." The tone in Sam's voice told Deeks Sam understood.

"Do you know?" Deeks asked tersely. "About him and what he did to-"

"Yep." Sam was curt, and Deeks guessed Callen was somewhere close. "Listen, we are on our way to the boathouse; we got a guy coming from DoD to tell us a bit more about Operation Tayga. We will be by to relieve you as soon as we are done."

"We…Callen is still coming?" Deeks said in surprise. "Is that wise? Considering?"

"Talk to Hetty about it." Sam didn't sound very happy. "I got to go. Watch yourself and Kensi."

Deeks hung up and bit his lower lip. He had a horrible feeling that the whole situation was like a case of TNT, and someone had just lit a fuse.

Sam hung up his phone and glanced over at Callen. His partner had his eyes closed and was resting his head against his fist, elbow propped against the door.

"You shouldn't talk on your cell phone while driving. It's dangerous." Callen commented quietly.

"I'm not driving. I'm sitting in bumper to bumper traffic waiting on a thousand cars and a red light. I think we're just fine." Sam said good-naturedly, hoping Callen was bantering as they usually did. But Callen did not respond.

"Callen? You okay?" Sam asked, concerned. "Callen? Callen!"

"_Callen!" The harsh voice scared him; he knew when Kimball used that voice bad things happened. He had only been with Dennis and Sherry a few days, but he had learned that quickly. He had learned the first night that Sherry worked the night shift at the bar, and she was the only thing that stopped Kimball from getting angry with him. And when Kimball got angry…well…Callen rubbed his freshest bruise on his cheek, wincing at the pain. _

"_Where are you? Get in here or you will be sorry!" Kimball's voice was louder…he was getting closer. Callen knew Kimball would find him and he would be angry that he had had to look for him. Callen held his breath as he heard Kimball's footsteps get closer. Surely the man would not look in there…_

"_When I get my hands on you...you're gonna be in a world of pain, boy!" Kimball yelled, the voice getting fainter. He heard the front door slam and breathed easily for the first time since Sherry had left that night. He pushed the door all the way open and slid out from under the kitchen sink. Callen was safe for one more night, or so he thought until a hand clamped down on his elbow. He could smell the man's thick cigarette smoke on his breath as Kimball whirled him around. _

"_I told you you'd be sorry." _

"G! Answer me or I swear to God I will take you to the emergency room!" Callen heard Sam snap with genuine concern. Callen shook his head, clearing the cobwebs of the memory away.

"I'm fine, Sam. Just a little tired." Callen stretched. "It's been…a long day. I'm fine."

Sam was staring at him with a strange expression on his face. "Right. And you have some oceanfront property in Wyoming."

"Best surfing in the country." Callen shot back.

Sam shook his head once. "If you ever decide to leave NCIS, you could get a job at a circus as a master escape artist, you know that?"

"Just call me Houdini." Callen said, nodding toward the exit. "We're here."

Sam growled to himself all the way into the boathouse, and Callen felt guilty shutting his friend out…again. But he had bigger things to worry about, he told himself sternly as he shook hands with the DoD agent, who introduced himself as Thomas Berrigan.

"Gentlemen, I hope you understand that what I am about to tell you is very sensitive and must be handled discreetly?" The small, nervous looking man said, adjusting his glasses with the air of a condemned prisoner.

"We are very discreet." Callen assured the man. The agent looked at the two with traces of skepticism on his face.

"Alright. What would you like to know?"

"What was Dr. Frement working on that required a protection detail?" Sam asked.

"Or was worth kidnapping him over?" Callen supplemented.

Berrigan sighed. "Well, initially Operation Tayga involved finding better, more reliable vaccines for different viruses such as anthrax."

"Sounds innocent enough." Sam commented.

"It was. In fact, it wasn't even classified stuff. Except, Dr. Frement discovered a completely new virus by accident."

"A bad one?" Sam asked anxiously.

"One of the worst I've ever seen. And if we could find it, you know someone else could. Operation Tayga instantly became classified, and the people involved began to study and document the new disease. We figured if we could discover an antidote before one of our enemies discovers the weapon, we could neutralize the threat."

"But someone kidnapped your lead scientist before you could discover the antidote." Callen guessed.

Berrigan nodded. "Bingo. What's worse; Dr. Frement could replicate the virus again. We feel that whoever has him knew he could do so."

"But that would mean…" Sam trailed off.

"There was a leak in our intelligence. Yes." Berrigan nodded. "And I am afraid we don't know how deep it goes."

Callen shook his head and Sam frowned. "Is that all you can tell us?"

"I am afraid so. Although…I can tell you this. The Tayga virus can be made in a powder form, which makes it very easy to spread. It is also very fast-acting; it could wipe out half of Los Angeles in less than an hour. "

"Great. I hate this." Sam said in a tired voice. "You have given us nothing to go off of, just to tell us we could all die."

"Allow me to finish. The Tayga virus needs a high, concentrated level on energy to be made. Whoever is responsible for this would need a lot of power and a considerable amount of time; even with Dr. Frement, it takes a while to form."

"We can at least start looking in old factories or power plants." Sam said, slightly mollified.

"It's a start." Callen agreed. They thanked the agent and left quietly; Callen making a phone call to Eric to start the search.

"You ready to go on protection detail?" Sam asked, with an underlying tone of concern.

Callen didn't even bother responding to it. "We will need to get some supplies; Kensi says there is no food in the house."

"There you go again, Houdini." Sam shook his head as he buckled up. "You know you can't hide from me forever, right?"

Callen sat straight up and stared at Sam. He willed himself to calm down. Sam said it is a teasing way…he didn't mean it like…

"_You can't hide from me forever, GG. You know that!" Kimball's voice was carrying up the stairs. Callen was hiding again, although he knew it would do no good. He had been with Dennis and Sherry for six days now. Every day he had invented new excuses to Sherry and to his teachers for the bruises. He had been getting to school early and staying as long as he could; even helping the janitors clean up, just so he wouldn't have to come back to the house. But it was Saturday…Sherry was working all day and there was no school. Which was why he was hiding in the towel closet, not daring to breath. _

_He had no surprise when Kimball yanked the door open. He felt the man grab him by his shirt, but he was detaching himself from the scene. He barely felt the fist connect with his jaw, just winced slightly as he felt blood trickle from his lip. Kimball was livid. _

"_You hid it. You stole the box." His voice was quiet; that was when he was the most dangerous. "The one by the door." _

_Callen didn't deny it; it would do no good. Kimball wasn't in the mood to be reasoned with. _

"_Well, you need to be punished. I told you not to touch the box." His voice was cold. Callen suddenly couldn't detach himself any longer. He was getting better; not showing fear or weakness immediately. But he couldn't help the cold sweat that broke out on his face as Kimball pulled him closer to the stairs. He held Callen on the edge of the landing, back to the steps. _

"_Please! I'm sorry!" Callen said, against his will. He didn't want to ask this man for anything; it wouldn't do any good anyway. And he hated how small he sounded. _

"_You like running and hiding, right?" Kimball said with a cruel smile. "Let's see how you like falling." _

_He let go of Callen's shirt and pushed-_

"Callen!" He felt Sam shake him. "What's wrong?"

He shook himself again, and opened his mouth to answer.

"And don't tell me you're fine. I know you aren't. Answer me or I'll call Hetty and have her pull you." Sam meant it.

"Okay. I'm not fine. But I cannot be pulled off this case, Sam. I _cannot_." Callen said quietly. Sam watched his partner's face for a moment, then nodded.

"Alright. I'll leave it alone. For now."

Silence reigned through the shopping run and all the way to the safehouse. Callen opened the door and nodded to Deeks, who was standing right inside.

"Well, well, well. You actually came back. I wondered." The voice was mocking and impressed at the same time.

Kimball.

Callen turned to face him. The man was walking toward him slowly, a smirk on his face. Callen took a deep breath and squared his shoulders. He wasn't a scared little boy anymore. And Kimball was going to find that out.


	5. Chapter 5

_Author's Note: Thank you guys so much for all your awesome comments, support, and just plain entertaining comments about Kimball. Please forgive the length of this chapter; I didn't just want it to be a filler, so it became longer then I intended. I know you don't click to read my notes, so on with the story! :) _

NCIS: LA NCIS: LA NCIS: LA

Sam watched the two men tensely, knowing Kensi and Deeks were doing the same. Callen was standing perfectly straight, face expressionless as Kimball came close to him. Sam was grateful Callen didn't back away this time, but his partner seemed so tightly wound Sam couldn't help but wonder what it would take to set him off.

"We didn't greet each other properly before." Kimball said in an almost jovial tone, holding out a hand for Callen to shake. "How are ya, kid?"

Sam barely restrained a growl. Kimball was taking charge of the situation, forcing Callen to shake _his_ hand, to meet _his_ eyes, to either deal with the man in his face or take a step back. The whole situation was a game of control, and Kimball had made the first move. There was an apprehensive moment as the two men locked eyes, cold green battling ice blue.

"Oh, come on, GG. You have nothing to say?" Kimball was grinning a sickeningly confidant smile. "Guess that didn't change."

Callen suddenly grinned, a dangerous grin showing all his teeth. Sam hid the twitch of his lips; he had only seen that smile a few times and every time things ended badly for the other man.

Game on.

"Kimball." He grabbed the outstretched hand and clamped down. A brief flash of nervousness crossed Kimball's face, Sam guessed the man finally realized how strong Callen was. "It has been a long time. Not long enough." He added.

Kimball tried to extricate his hand without appearing to give up his illusion of power. When he couldn't, he took a step forward. Callen didn't back away like he assumed, and they wound up only a few inches from each other's face. Finally Kimball nodded and let his hand drop. Callen allowed him to back up, turning away and ignoring the man.

"Kensi, Deeks, go home and get some sleep. You can come relieve us at ten o'clock tomorrow morning. Be sure to check in with Eric before you come in; see if he found anything. Ask Hetty how many days we are going to have the witness here before we switch houses." Callen said in an authoritative, not even acknowledging the man behind him. Sam's lips twitched again. Callen was doing a good job, putting up a good front. Sam could see the bottled anger flickering in his eyes, and something else. Sam couldn't tell if it was fear, pain, anxiety…or a mixture of all three.

_He's already on the edge. We wouldn't want him jumping off. _Hetty's words echoed in his mind as Callen shook Kensi and Deeks's hands and the other two agents left; Sam could tell from their faces they were not thrilled with the circumstances. Truth be told, neither was Sam.

Callen persisted in ignoring Kimball as he walked around the room, adjusting blackout curtains and checking locks. Sam knew it was unnecessary, but he also knew Callen needed to burn off that nervous energy that had been building up. Kimball seemed to be ignoring Callen too, instead turning his attention to making conversation with Sam. He sat on the couch against one wall, leaning back and interlacing his fingers behind his head.

"I like this house. Big, open rooms…nice view…no neighbors within spitting distance. It's nice." He nodded towards the front door. "Of course, it would be nice if I could go outside…"

"Sit." Sam said wearily.

Kimball shook his head. "Man of few words?"

Sam and Callen both ignored him.

"So, how long have you two been partners?" There was a slight barb to the words, and Kimball was speaking loud enough for Callen to hear.

"Long enough." Sam said shortly, expressing his dislike of the man in every syllable. Kimball made a face before trying again.

"What's it like, having GG here as a partner? Does he rabbit on you all the time?" Kimball grinned that insufferable smirk that Sam longed to slap off his face. Sam saw Callen stiffen out of the corner of his eye, back toward Kimball. Despite his pointed disregard of Kimball's presence, Callen was still listening to the conversation. Sam resented being baited, but he was not about to let the insult slide; especially if the man was too much of a coward to slur Callen to his face.

"Agent Callen has _never _been afraid of a fight." Sam said meaningfully. Kimball seemed surprised.

"I guess some things do change. That certainly isn't the GG _I_ remember." He said, laughing irritatingly.

Callen had been walking around the house with purpose, but casually. Sam noticed that Callen was now prowling; eyes searching for something. He had already been through the bottom level of the house from what Sam could tell and was heading for the second level.

"Hey, GG, watch out for the stairs." There was a double edge to Kimball's warning and Callen froze for an instant, barely enough to even notice. But Sam noticed. He also noticed the anger that flashed through Callen's face as he passed him and took the stairs two at a time, still ignoring the witness.

Sam almost didn't ask, but he couldn't help himself. "What was _that_ all about?" He said, watching the man in front of him like he was a dangerous animal.

"Stairs can be dangerous." Kimball said innocently, blinking once or twice. "Wouldn't want Callen to fall, would we?" The last bit was raised for Callen's benefit, loud enough to be heard on the second level. Sam was already counting the minutes until ten the next morning.

Kimball seemed to be enjoying himself. "You don't say much. Am I really that bad company? I have been told I can be quite the conversationalist." Kimball watched Sam's face but got no reaction. "I bet Callen doesn't talk much, does he? About himself, I mean."

Sam ignored the man. Kimball continued. "Thought not. He always was a drama queen."

Sam was finding it harder to ignore the man.

"I mean it; he could turn anything into a national disaster. That's the only reason his little case went as far as it did. The jury took one look at those big blue eyes and his story –highly embellished, I might add- and I didn't have a chance to defend myself. I'm not such a bad guy, you know. He acted out, I reproved him. He did it again, I did it again. Isn't that what you're supposed to do with kids? Reprove them? I didn't hurt the kid as bad as he said; he blew it out of proportion."

Sam was clenching his jaw now.

"You must be curious. About what he was like as a kid; his habits. Who he was. He won't talk about it; he'll never talk about it. Like I said, total drama queen. And I know you are interested, I can see it your face." Kimball paused for dramatic effect. "I could tell you, you know."

Sam glared at the man across the room. "If I want to know something from you, I'll ask you. Until then, shut up and go through those binders. See if you recognize one of them as the kidnappers." He nodded toward the binders full of mugshots and acquired pictures of known criminals and terrorists sitting on the couch beside Kimball.

Kimball seemed offended. "You imprison me, ignore me, threaten me, and then except me to cooperate?"

"We could always take you back to your house." Callen said suddenly, appearing from nowhere. Even Sam jumped a little. "They should have all the bullets out of your walls by now."

Kimball narrowed his eyes at Callen, catching the meaning behind the words. "Fine. But do I have to do this now? It's late. Can't a guy get some sleep around here?"

Callen jerked his head toward the stairs. "There's a bedroom made up; first door on the right. Bathroom is right across the hall. Stay away from the windows and don't even think of going outside."

Kimball stood slowly, staring down Callen again. Once again, Callen didn't budge. Kimball passed him and made his way to the stairs. He paused and looked back. "You know…you're really good at acting like the hardass; when you have your friends around. But I am willing to bet you are someone different when they aren't around."

Callen didn't even turn around. "First door on the right. Be careful on the stairs. Wouldn't want you falling, after all." There was something acidic in his words, and Kimball sneered.

"That's what I thought."

Sam watched the witness disappear up the stairs and looked at Callen. His partner resembled a rope stretched too tight; an instant away from snapping.

"How much did you hear?" He asked.

"Most of it." Callen shot back. "He does that a lot. Plays with people's heads."

Sam nodded slowly. "How you doing, G?"

"I'm doing all right." Callen said with perfect confidence and a small smile.

Sam nodded again. "Alright. I'm here when you are ready to stop lying."

Callen watched his partner walk away, slightly stunned. "I never lied to you, Sam!" He said, taken aback.

Sam paused and looked over his shoulder. "I didn't mean lying to me, Callen. I meant lying to yourself." He walked away, leaving his partner to gaze after him with pained eyes.

Hetty took a dainty sip of her morning tea and smiled at the pleasant taste. She looked over at the bullpen, unsurprised by the fact Deeks and Kensi were there, despite the early hour. This case was urgent in itself, but the added pressure involving one of their own no doubt rested heavily on them. Even Eric and Nell were busy in the Operation Center; she doubted they even went home the night before.

As if the very thought of him conjured him up, Eric let out a shrill whistle. Deeks and Kensi immediately vacated their desks and ran up to the upper deck. Hetty debated following them, but decided to allow her agents free reign. She had something else to do, she reminded herself as she saw the file sitting on the edge of her desk; a tan and black reminder of things best left forgotten.

"What'd you get, Eric?" Kensi asked excitedly as she and Deeks stood in front of the big screen.

"We found out why the van disappeared for so long." Nell answered. "We ran all the traffic footage around the docks, and the scene of the kidnapping-"

"Several hundred times." Eric interjected.

"-And finally noticed something. On the footage a block away from the kidnapping site, we found this." Nell pressed a button and pointed out the video. The black van pulled into a narrow ally, obstructing the camera's view. "A few seconds later, on the other side of the ally? Guess what comes out." She rolled another clip. A large, nondescript black semi pulled out, joining traffic easily.

"They hid the van inside the semi." Kensi said excitedly.

"The same semi was on footage pulling up to the docks and driving away, in correspondence with the van blowing up." Nell said in triumph.

"Well, now we know how they did it, but we still don't know who they are." Deeks said in mild frustration.

"Actually, Eric thinks he has a lead on that." Nell turned the electronic pointer over to her compatriot and sat down. The blonde man pushed his glasses up and pointed at the semi.

"I ran the plates on the semi and found it was registered to a shipping company that went out of business about three months ago." Eric said. "Guess who I caught on camera in their storage lot, stealing this semi?"

"Who?" Kensi asked.

"Timothy Briggins."

"Oh no." Kensi said as the man's picture came on the screen. He was about thirty five, with a light beard and a small tattoo of a strange sunburst on his cheek.

"Oh, yes." Eric nodded.

"Oh no; anybody but him!" Deeks said anxiously, then paused. "Wait…who's Timothy Briggins?"

"Briggins is a homegrown terrorist that every department in the government is looking for. He tried to blow up a school-unsuccessfully, thank God- a few years ago. He is aggressive and has been tied to half a dozen acts of extreme violence against the public. He is also suspected on providing several terrorist cells with weapons and inside information. No one has seen anything from him in about a year. I guess we know why. " Eric cocked his head slightly, waiting for someone to reply to his rhetorical statement.

"He was planning this. Sam told me that Operation Tayga went classified about a year ago." Kensi said, a tremor of excitement returning in her voice. "Didn't Briggins run with a group?"

Eric nodded. "They called themselves the Illuminators; hence the sun tattoos they all have. There were five members we think; but we have very little on them."

"Someone must have leaked them their information as soon as Frement discovered the virus." Deeks said, musing. "Any luck on cutting through that red tape?"

Eric nodded. "Which brings me to the second reason I called you up here."

"They didn't pick their safehouse very well; Eric and I found three separate cameras that cover it." Nell broke in, bringing up three camera angles. "We see Frement leave here, at six thirty in the morning. We see two agents come out and begin frantically searching for something-"

"Frement, we assume." Eric interjected again.

"At six forty five. This corresponds with their reports that they found Frement missing and started a search. But look at this agent-we found his name is Agent Brad Laurence. He comes outside after the other two, takes out his cell phone, and places a call." Nell zoomed in on his mouth.

"He said 'he's on his way.'" Kensi said, reading his lips.

"Exactly." Nell nodded, red hair swishing down into her eyes. She flipped her hair back and pointed at the original clip of the kidnapping. "And we see Frement get kidnapped at exactly seventeen minutes later."

"What do we have on Brad Laurence?" Deeks asked.

"Not much; DoD records are hard to hack…I mean access." Eric corrected himself. "I have to tread carefully so I don't set off any alarms."

"Well, tread faster!" Kensi said shortly, eyes shifting from one still frame to the other. "Briggins isn't usually this patient; he is flashier, quicker striking then this. If he has waited this long for one plan, it means something big is coming. Something bad."

"Callen has us searching for energy sources capable for producing the Tayga virus on a large scale; of course, we have to wade through the hundreds of legitimate power plants in LA, so it is going to take some time." Nell added.

"Time is something we are running out of." Deeks said flatly.

"Agent Berrigan told Sam and Callen that it took time for the virus to 'cure.' No matter how impatient this Briggins gets, he has to wait for it. Something like Berrigan described would take up to three days to come to full maturity, I'd estimate." Nell pointed out. "And that is _if_ Dr. Frement could mix the virus in one day. If he is producing it wholesale, that buys us a little extra time."

"But we can't take any chances." Kensi pointed out. "The more time that passes, the chances that Dr. Frement is still alive goes down."

"Right." Nell nodded.

Eric held his hands out at his sides. "That's all we got for now, guys. I'm sorry."

"Don't be; this is huge. We finally have a name behind all of this." Kensi said gamely. "Let us know when you get more on Agent Laurence."

"Meanwhile, let's see if Hetty can call in another favor. If the DoD will send him over, we can get this Laurence guy to the boathouse and see if he lets anything slip." Deeks said.

"Good idea, Deeks." Kensi said. "I'll check in with Callen."

She dialed, steeling herself at the thought of what could be going on at the safehouse.

"You were supposed to wake me up for my shift, you know." Sam was grumbling at Callen as he bit into an apple. "You didn't have to keep watch all night."

Callen shrugged. "I couldn't sleep anyway. I didn't see the point in waking you." He rummaged through the supplies they had bought, searching for something to eat.

Sam shook his head. "You are going to drive me crazy, you know that?"

"Not a far trip, buddy." Callen said lightly. Sam threw his core at Callen and Callen caught it easily and flipped it into the trashcan behind him without looking. Sam gave a small chuckle and headed into the main room. Callen heard his phone ring and answered it without checking the caller ID. "Callen."

"Hey, it's Kensi, We got a break."

"Oh, really? Let me get Sam. Hold on." He headed out into the main room. He growled in frustration to see Kimball had raised the blackout curtains on the windows by the door, despite their orders not to. Sam was reaching up to lower one when Callen saw a silver car slow down on the road. The back window was rolled down, and Callen could see a gun barrel.

"Sam, get down!" He yelled a warning a split second before gunfire broke out, ripping through the front of the house with violent force.

"Callen!" Kensi yelled into her phone. "What is going on? Callen! Answer me!" She felt her hands start shaking. The unmistakable sound of gunfire seemed to last forever, distorted and almost tinny in her ear.

"Callen!" She yelled again as silence suddenly fell.

There was no answer.


	6. Chapter 6

_Author's Note: Thank you all for not killing me for giving you that cliffy last time. :) Reviews are much loved, and thanks for all the support! _

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"Callen!" Kensi tried one more time, frozen in place. She did not just hear two of her closest friends get shot. She did _not._ She refused to believe it. "Callen…answer me?" It was no longer a command; it was a plea. Deeks was hovering an inch away from her, eyes wide and full of questions. Kensi's heart dropped as she realized she had no answer.

Callen winced as he pushed himself up from the floor. Glass and pieces of window frames littered the floor around him; whoever the shooter was did a good job on the front of the house.

"Sam?" Callen called out, swinging his eyes to where his partner had been standing. Sam was slumped on the ground, unmoving. "Sam!" He crossed the room before he could think and knelt beside his friend, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"I'm good, I'm good!" Sam wheezed, holding up a hand to stop Callen from turning him over. . "Just got the wind knocked out of me. I hit the deck pretty hard when you yelled."

Callen breathed out slowly, calming himself down. "You good?" Sam was asking as he sat up on his own, blinking a few times. Callen looked down, surveying himself dazedly.

"I...think so." Callen answered. "Yeah, I'm fine.

Sam grunted. "If you are fine, why are you bleeding?" He reached over and picked at Callen's button down sleeve. Callen looked down at the light colored fabric, frowning at the red stain.

"Huh. Ouch." He rolled up the sticky cloth and saw that his arm was cut in several places, from where he fell on the broken glass, he assumed. Sam had similar cuts on his arms from where he threw his hands up to protect his face, but not as deep. The two looked at each other and Callen held out a hand to help his friend stand.

Sam shook his head as he allowed Callen to pull him up. "How did they find us?"

Callen let out a small sigh. "I don't know. The car didn't seem to be looking for anything; it just passed by and opened fire."

"What are you saying, G?" Sam tilted his head.

"There have been gang wars in this area before, remember?" Callen said carefully.

"Are you saying that some group of punks just drove by a random house and opened fire?" Sam said, disbelief evident.

"I'm saying it's possible. Maybe some kind of initiation or something." Callen shrugged. "Coincidences happen."

"Or we could have been compromised. As many times as Kimball has been ignoring us, it wouldn't surprise me." Sam countered. Callen conceded the point by a nod of his head.

"Speaking of, where is he?" Sam growled. "You don't think he got hit, do you?"

Callen shook his head. "The bullets didn't go any farther than this front room. Those thick walls are half the reason Hetty picked this place."

"Too bad she didn't pick a place with no windows." Sam nodded at the glass fragments on the carpet. Callen agreed with a sharp nod. "I'll go look for the little weasel." Sam sighed. "He's probably hiding in the towel closet or something."

Callen managed to stop the flinch before it crossed his face. He didn't have time to think about that now. He shoved the memories back in the dark area of his mind-where they belonged- and nodded. "I'll…oh, hell." He ran to where he had dropped his cell phone. Kensi had disconnected the call and Callen hurriedly dialed her.

"Callen?" Kensi's voice was incredulous and hopeful at the same time as she answered.

"Yeah, Kensi, it's me. Someone just turned the front wall into Swiss cheese over here."

"Are you and Sam okay?" Kensi sounded anxious. Callen hastened to reassure her.

"A few cuts and bruises, nothing we can't handle."

"Oh, Thank God you are okay. I'm going to kill you!" Kensi snapped. "I hear World War Three go off, and then you don't answer and then you don't call until now? I called Sam's phone and didn't get an answer there either! I thought you were dead!"

"I'm sorry, Kens. We were a little…preoccupied." Callen said, pushing open the door to the kitchen. "Call Hetty and tell her what happened, and we want to meet all of you at Point Charlie in an hour."

Kensi seemed mollified. "Alright. Point Charlie, one hour. And I am still going to kill you."

It wasn't until he hung up that Callen realized Kensi hadn't even asked about Kimball. It would be almost funny if anything involving Kimball _could_ amuse him.

"Found him, G!" He heard Sam call from the upper level. He hurried to join his partner, who was herding the witness down the stairs. Kimball seemed irate.

"Some safehouse. Are you guys _trying _to get me killed?" Kimball snapped. "I need to go to the hospital!"

"Did you get hit?" Callen asked warily.

"No, but when that firestorm started I hit the ground. I hit my head on the edge of the bed; I might have a concussion!" Kimball said dramatically. "I'm an old man; my bones are weak."

Callen managed to keep his grunt of disbelief in. "You do realize that going to the hospital will put you at a greater risk to be found."

"You mean, greater risk than being here, in this well protected, federal safehouse?" Kimball said with a good deal of sarcasm. Callen ground his teeth, looking at Sam.

"We have someone who has a good deal of medical experience waiting for us at our next location." Callen finally said, glancing back at the man. "She has to approve any changes in our route anyway; if she thinks you need to go to the hospital, you will go."

Kimball sneered. "I think that is the most you have spoken to me since we saw each other. Maybe ever."

Callen actually snapped his fingers. "Let's go; they might come back to finish the job."

Sam nodded. "Car's hidden out back. We need to get moving. Point Aaron?"

"No. Point Charlie." Callen answered, allowing his partner to shepherd Kimball toward the back door. "No windows."

Sam gave a half smile. "Good call."

They bundled a still complaining Kimball into the Challenger and pulled out into the street calmly.

"You want to step on it, maybe?" Kimball said acerbically from the backseat. Sam didn't even look in the rearview mirror at him. "We don't want to attract attention; acting naturally will probably save your life."

Kimball made a face. "Right." He drew the word out mockingly. "How far is this…Point Charlie place?"

"About thirty minutes, forty five, depending on traffic." Sam answered. "Now shut up."

Callen listened to the exchange quietly, not offering anything to the conversation. He hoped Kimball would just leave him alone; he really just wanted to solve this case and dump the man so deep in witness protection he would never have to think about him again. Ever.

"Hey, GG, cat got your tongue or something?"

"I have nothing to say to you." Callen said carefully, keeping his eyes on the road in front of him as intently as if he were the one driving. He felt Sam look at him, but didn't look at his partner

Kimball didn't seem to be discouraged. "Oh, ho, tough guy. Don't forget, kid, this is me you are talking to. I know you; who you are. _What _you are."

Callen started breathing deeply, keeping himself calm. "You knew what I _was,_ Kimball. I'm not that kid anymore."

Kimball snorted. "Sure, keep telling yourself that, kid."

There was a moment of silence, during which Callen knew Sam kept glancing at him.

"Hey, Sam, you know why I call him GG?" Kimball was baiting his partner. Callen clenched his jaw; he wanted Sam to be left out of this.

Sam didn't respond, but Kimball kept talking. "Well, see, he used to have this really long hair, longer than any ten year old boy I ever saw. He was a scrawny little thing, too. He looked like a girl, acted like a girl, had a high voice like a girl too. I told him he had to earn a man's name, and until he did I would call him a girl's name like he deserved." Kimball's tone was pointed. "From what I have seen, he still hasn't earned it. Why should he? He's got that little she-devil and _you_ to fight for him. "

Sam was tense now, and Callen could tell he was angry. He didn't want this; he didn't want Kimball to start playing with his team like he had played with Callen. Callen knew all too well how Kimball could twist things, make them seem innocent or guilty, good or bad, depending on what he wanted. Callen wasn't about to let him pull his tricks on his team, and certainly not his partner. Callen spoke without wanting to, or meaning to. It was just a gut reaction to keep Kimball from pushing Sam further.

"Where's Sherry?" He was mildly surprised he asked the question, but it had been something he had been wondering ever since he had recovered from his initial surprise. Sherry had been Kimball's wife…she had been kind, very kind. Nothing like Kimball. She worked constantly, but whenever she was there she paid close attention to her foster son. She had no idea what kind of man her husband was; he was always careful to never hurt Callen when she was around. As far as he knew, Kimball never laid a finger on her, ever. In fact, he had been quite caring toward her. Maybe that was why she believed Callen's stories of falling from playground equipment or school fights so easily…she couldn't believe her husband could cause those bruises. That was why she was so shocked when…the final night happened.

Callen realized Kimball had gone stiff, face closed off. "She died." There was actual pain in his voice. Sam glanced from Callen to Kimball, face incredulous at the sudden change that had gone over the arrogant man in the backseat.

"I am sorry." Called said, and meant it. "How?"

"Drunk driver." Kimball said shortly. He looked out the window sharply. "She hated this city, you know. Always wanted to go back home to Kansas. She hated LA; she was only here because of me, my work."

Callen nodded slowly; he remembered Sherry saying something to that effect one morning. She had said it laughingly, lightheartedly like everything she did; but she had meant it.

"_There are too many people, Bud." She took a sip of coffee, pushing her brunette hair out of her eyes, looking out the front window wistfully. She had called Callen Bud from the first day, and Callen liked it. He nodded in agreement, even though he privately liked the crowds. Easier to blend in, not be seen, remain invisible. _

"_It's hard to be your own person, to make a difference here. There are millions of people all trying to do the same thing you are doing, and even that has been done before. Too many people; way too many. I wish you could see a small town, its closeness and friendliness. There is room to grow and explore in a small town. If Dennis hadn't inherited that factory and all its headaches we wouldn't be here...maybe he can sell it. Maybe we can move back there. You'd like it, Bud" She shook her head, then smiled. "How was school yesterday? I'm sorry I didn't get home until you had already gone to bed." _

_Callen shrugged it off, not wanting to tell her he had went to bed as soon as he got home from school; his bedroom was the only door in the house with a lock besides the bathroom. "Fine." _

"_That bully still giving you trouble?" She asked, concerned eyeing his healing split lip. Callen felt a shiver go down his spine, even though he knew Dennis wasn't there. _

"_Sometimes." He admitted, comforting himself in the knowledge that he wasn't lying to her…exactly. _

"_Well, you just tell him he better lay off or I'll pound him." She smiled a wide, genuine smile. She flexed her small arms, then frowned playfully. "Or…at least give him a good tongue lashing." _

_Callen couldn't help but smile. She looked conspiringly at him. "I have the day off; what do you say we go have some fun, just us? I'm thinking ice cream and that new movie…the one with all the explosions and fast cars." _

_Callen looked doubtfully at the clock. "I have school…" _

"_I can call you in sick." She winked at him. "I won't tell if you won't." _

Callen swallowed hard, blinking once. Sherry was a wonderful, vibrant person; it was hard to hear she had died. He had always liked her. She mentioned once that she would have liked to adopt Callen; and he almost got excited over it. He, in his child's mind, thought that maybe if he could just earn Dennis's respect he would stop hitting him; maybe he was just trying to toughen him up. Maybe he didn't mean anything about it. But Callen learned quickly that wasn't the case.

As if the thought of him was enough to animate him, Kimball spoke again. "Sherry was the last truly beautiful, good thing on this planet." It was spoken quietly, causing Sam to look at him again. Even Callen was surprised at the hurt in the man's voice. It was a few minutes before he tried to goad the men into conversation again, but by then they had reach their destination.

Sam pulled the Challenger off the road into a quiet neighborhood, with most of the houses sporting for sale signs. Kimball shook his head. "Of course; foreclosure central in the most logical safehouse location."

"You want to go back to the docks?" Callen snapped, his patience wearing thin. Kimball smirked. "Doesn't matter; you geniuses swore you could protect me; shouldn't matter where I am, hmm?"

Sam and Callen pushed him at the same time into the house. It had the appearance of a comfortable; much lived in house, complete with furniture.

"Downstairs." Sam said, a little less blunt then before, but still not friendly. "That's where you are going to stay."

The fully furnished basement had everything the first safehouse had; bedroom, bathroom, small kitchenette. But it had one major advantage; no windows for people to look – or shoot-into.

Hetty, Kensi, and Deeks were sitting at a card table, clearly waiting on them. Sam caught them up on what happened, including Kimball's claim he needed to go to a hospital. Hetty took it all in stride.

"I will examine Mr. Kimball and see if he requires medical attention we cannot provide." Hetty turned to Kensi. "Agent Blye, will you please go gather some supplies? There is a list on the fridge upstairs." Kensi nodded quickly, passing Sam and Callen.

"I am still going to kill you." She said, giving each one a half hug. "I'm glad you guys are okay."

"Thanks, Kens." Callen said with a smile.

"Mr. Callen, Mr. Hanna, you will find the guest rooms upstairs still have fresh clothes from your last stay here." The agents looked relieved. "Thanks, Hetty." Sam said gratefully.

"You want first shower?" Sam asked Callen, and Callen shook his head. "Go for it, man."

Hetty dismissed Sam, but when Callen made to leave the room himself, she shook her head and cleared her throat. "Mr. Callen? Those cuts on your arm need attention."

"Hetty, I am fine." Callen started to insist, but Hetty cut him off. "Do not lie to me, Agent Callen. Mr. Deeks?"

The detective jumped slightly. "Yes, Hetty?"

"You are familiar with basic first aid?"

"Yes, Ma'am." He nodded enthusiastically, eager to please, Callen thought with a small smile. Hetty grinned briefly.

"Good; then please attend to Mr. Callen. He can't treat them very well, as they are on his dominant arm." The last part was to prevent Callen from arguing. Deeks looked at Callen nervously. "Um…Hetty…is that such a good…"

"Do it, Mr. Deeks. Mr. Callen, allow him to do it." Hetty said pointedly. Callen bit back argument; it would do no good. Suddenly Hetty turned on Kimball, who had been watching the whole scene with a knowing half-smirk.

"Now, Mr. Kimball; I do not know how my agents have been treating you thus far, or what they have told you. But let's make one thing clear here and now. I am in charge here, not you. I can make your wait here more pleasant than a stay in Taj Mahal, or I can make your life a living hell. You follow my rules and we will get along just fine. Rule one." She raised a finger. "You will stay down here, no matter what. If you need something from the upper level, one of the agents will get it for you. Rule two, you will not show my agents _any_ disrespect. And rule three; do _not_ touch my tea pot. Do you understand?"

Kimball snorted. "You don't scare me, lady."

"That's what Stalin said, Mr. Kimball. Word for word." Hetty said with a small smile. "And I do not have to scare you, Mr. Kimball. I have much more efficient ways of making my point."

Kimball actually seemed a little taken aback.

"Now, sit."

He obeyed. Hetty glanced at Deeks and Callen. "You are dismissed, gentlemen."

Callen reluctantly followed Deeks up to the main level. Deeks looked nervous. "Look…Hetty will kill me if I don't do what she asked-"

"First aid kit is under the sink, Deeks." Callen wearily sat at the kitchen table. He felt like there was a piece of the puzzle right in front of him…but he couldn't see it. There was something that he felt he should be remembering…something he felt he should know. Something important. Something very important. But he had no idea what it could be.


	7. Chapter 7

_Author's Note: This kind of feels like a filler chapter (Also, this chapter was kind of a personal indulgence for me; we almost never get to see interaction between Deeks and Callen without Kensi or Sam), but this and the next chapter are very important because Callen finally starts to not distance himself from his emotions. And…let's just say he is going to get very angry pretty soon; he needs to stop blocking certain things out to do so. So please bear with me! :) Reviews are loved! _

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_Please don't beat the crap out of me, please don't beat the crap out of me, please don't beat the crap out of me. _Deeks pleaded in his mind as he sat down across from Callen. He knew the lead agent was not pleased about Hetty's orders, and Deeks really hoped he didn't take out on him. Not that he was scared of Callen or anything…

Deeks gave a shaky laugh and set the first aid kit down. "Well, I guess we better get this over with."

Callen dropped his arm, palm up, against the table; face pensive. Deeks expected more of a fight, but thanked Heaven for small favors. He reached into the first aid kit and pull out some bandages, rubbing alcohol, and various other things he felt he would need. He paused, feeling a sensation of uncertainty as he touched Callen's arm. The only person Deeks had ever seen Callen allow to touch him was Sam; why couldn't _Sam_ be the one doing this? He gently started cleaning one of the wounds, ready to duck and run for cover. Callen grit his teeth against the disinfectant's sting, but made no further protest. Deeks took that as a good thing, but the distant expression on Callen's face worried him.

He moved on, looking at the next one. "Man, Callen; you should have cleaned these or bound them or something."

"I was a little busy saving a witness." The sneer on the last word did not go unnoticed by the detective.

"You want to talk about it?" He asked as he cleaned the wound.

"Just because you are holding my hand doesn't mean I am going to pour my heart out to you, Deeks." Callen said briskly, although a tiny hint of a smile played about his lips for a moment. Heartened by the reaction Deeks looked up at his in-field boss, but the distant look was back in Callen's eyes.

"Oops. There's a piece of glass in here." Deeks said, looking at the next cut. He glanced at Callen. "You didn't feel that?"

Callen shrugged. Deeks frowned slightly. He knew the senior agent kept things bottled up and pushed down, but this was ridiculous. He grabbed a pair of tweezers and glanced at Callen. "This might hurt a little bit, but I got to get it out."

Callen's lips twitched; his face still remote. "Just do it, Deeks."

The blonde man leaned over Callen's arm, carefully grabbing the bit of window glass. "You know…I know what it's like."

Callen glanced at him but didn't say anything. Deeks felt obligated to continue.

"I know what is like." He repeated. "With people like him. To feel like it's your fault, that you are the one the blame for everything. If you were stronger…less clumsy…less afraid, it wouldn't happen again."

Callen's arm tensed under Deeks's hand, but the detective didn't look up, nor did he release the lead agent. Working as gently as he could, he began to remove the piece of glass. "But because you _are_ afraid, you are angry. Angry at him for doing it, angry at others for not seeing it, angry at yourself for not fighting back. And if and when you do fight back, things don't get any better, only worse." Deeks didn't know where the words were coming from, they were just coming out. "And even though you know it isn't your fault, you can't help but believe it is. And then the doubt sets in…maybe it isn't as bad as I thought. Maybe I'm making a big deal out of nothing. Maybe this is good for me. And then the shame sets in. How could I let it happen again? Why me?"

Deeks swallowed hard, remembering every time his father got drunk and began beating him and his mother. Anger worked his way into his chest, remembering the night he had had enough…the night he shot his own father. "You know…the worst thing I remember from the night I shot my old man was hearing he was going to live…and I remember being disappointed."

Deeks pulled the bit of glass up, quickly reaching for a towel and pressing it against the now bleeding cut. He felt the flood of words keep coming out. "And then you grow up, and you don't have an excuse anymore; you are tough, you can fight for yourself now. But the anger, and the confusion, and the blame and the shame and the hate are all still there, just buried. And then it all comes back to you like one big slap in the face, and you find the fear is still there too. Because what if you aren't strong enough? What if you can't fight well enough to be left alone?"

Deeks lifted up the towel to see if the bleeding had stopped. It hadn't. He replaced the towel and kept talking.

"And then you have to decide which one wins out; anger or fear." Deeks finally looked up at Callen, hoping the older man would not take offence to his words. _Please, please don't beat the crap out of me. _Deeks thought again as he looked at Callen. The senior agent had a stunned look on his face.

Callen stared at Deeks in surprise. He had been shocked at Deeks's speech; the seemingly carefree surfer king persona he had associated with his liaison officer had just been shattered. He felt almost guilty for not remembering Deeks had been through an abusive situation, just as he had; about the same age too. Every word that Deeks had said cut right through his mind, throwing light on shadows Callen would much rather leave alone. It was like Deeks had been there, seen his life. And in a way, Callen guessed, he had. He had seen it in his own childhood.

He realized Deeks was staring at him with uneasiness in his eyes. Callen guessed the detective hadn't meant to speak, and was unsure how he would react.

"I hate it. I hate how he gets in my mind." Callen's voice was rough, and surprised him. He hadn't meant to speak; his mind was betraying him just like it had in the car when Kimball was baiting Sam.

Deeks nodded in understanding, relief also flooding his face; Callen guessed it was from the realization Callen wasn't going to punch him. "My old man was good at that too. He'd get you all twisted around until you would swear the sky was purple. When he told me that I got that bruise from falling off my bike, I almost believed him."

Callen nodded, that sounded familiar. "I could handle it if it was just me, Deeks. But he's bringing Hetty and Kensi and you and Sam into it. He's screwing with their heads just like he-" He slammed his mouth shut. What the hell was he doing? How did Deeks _do_ that? Even Hetty couldn't get him to talk. There was a sudden sting in his arm and he looked down. Deeks had gone back to cleaning the cuts, but was nodding to show he was listening.

"I don't want you all brought into this. This shouldn't even be happening; we never have to see him again after we close this case. It isn't worth bringing up all that old dirt." Callen said stubbornly.

"Rationalization." Deeks said knowingly. "You don't want to deal with it so you justify ignoring it. Been there, done that, man."

Callen glared at Deeks. "I am not ignoring it; I am just-"

"Not dealing with it." Deeks finished for Callen, and Callen frowned. "That's not what I was going to say…"

"But that is what you are doing."

Callen ground his teeth. He remembered being the one doing this kind of thing to Sam whenever his partner felt guilty or blaming himself for a case gone wrong. Now he knew how it felt, and he didn't like it. There was a minute or two of silence, Deeks bandaging Callen's arm expertly.

"You do this a lot?" Callen asked in curiosity, mostly to break the heavy silence. Deeks paused. "Yeah. One of my undercover cases, I went in as an emergency response for a rodeo. I got a lot of practice."

Callen smiled. "Rodeo?"

"Long story." Deeks suddenly frowned. "This one cut needs stitches, man. I'm sorry."

Callen stood instantly, snatching his arm against his chest. "No, Deeks."

Deeks stood as well, folding his arms. "Callen, it is over a half inch, the skin does not touch, and it will continue to tear and bleed if not treated. That is the textbook case for stitches!"

"I hate needles, Deeks. No. End of discussion."

"It will reduce the chances of scarring."

"Women like scars." Callen said defiantly. Deeks shook his head. "You have enough scars to impress the entire Sports Illustrated modeling staff, dude. You don't need another one."

Callen eyed the shiny sliver of metal in Deeks's hand. "No."

"Look, Callen, Hetty will flay the skin from my bones if I let you get infected, and then Sam will take great pleasure in breaking those bones. It is three stitches max. Just let me do it." Deeks pleaded. "I'll even blindfold you, if you want."

Callen snorted. "You are not blindfolding me. Ever." He finally sighed.

"Sorry, Deeks." He sat and held his arm out again. "I guess I'm just on edge."

Deeks sat and threaded the needle. "It's okay to be on edge, Callen. Keeps you on your toes."

Callen snorted. "I just freaked out over a two inch needle, Deeks. I think I'm past being on my toes." He suddenly slammed his free hand down on the table. Deeks squeaked and jumped, his face flushing in embarrassment. Callen barely noticed. "I am just so sick of it! Damn it, I lived in thirty-seven places. Most of them were crappy; and a few of them were violent. Kimball wasn't even the worst… so why is it so hard for me to move on from this one? I even came to terms with Jason's death! Why not this one?"

_How'd he do that? _Callen thought again, astonished at his own sudden outburst. _He got me to do it again! _

"You were ten, Callen. Those kinds of things don't just heal, especially if you don't let that anger out. And at the time…you didn't have anyone to let it out to, did you?" Deeks guessed. Callen frowned. Deeks continued. "And you just got reminded of it, after you thought it was over forever. I'm guessing if you saw the guy that beat...Jason; you would find you haven't come to terms as well as you think you did. And, I am guessing that Kimball was the _first_ violent one, am I right?"

Callen nodded sharply, then looked away, signaling he didn't want to talk anymore. Deeks's words hit home in a way Callen hated; he wanted to drop the whole thing.

"Callen, I don't know who you were even two years ago; but I know who you are now. I know you are one of the strongest people I know; I know you are strong enough to fight. But I think you're strong enough to walk away, too. Strong enough to let go." Deeks's voice was quiet but firm. "You just need to talk it out, let it out of its box. And I'm not the one you need to talk it out with." He nodded towards the bathroom. Callen understood.

"And I would recommend doing it soon; the faster you let go the faster Kimball loses his hold over you." Deeks stood. "See? The stitches weren't that bad, were they?"

Callen looked down quickly. He hadn't even noticed Deeks stitching up his arm. He glanced up. "Thanks, Marty."

The use of his birth name let Deeks know Callen wasn't just thanking him for the first aid. "Anytime." He nodded.

Just then Sam came into the room, rubbing his neck. "I saved you some hot water, G…" He trailed off, looking at the white bandages that covered Callen's arm from wrist to elbow. "I knew you weren't fine." He said in a friendly, teasing way. Callen looked from Deeks to Sam. "You have no idea." He said quietly.

The wall between him and his emotions trembled and he swallowed. Deeks ducked out quickly, leaving Sam and Callen alone in the kitchen. Sam walked casually to the fridge and began rummaging for food. Callen looked at the door to the basement and swallowed again.

"Sam?"

His partner looked up expectantly. "Yeah, G?"

"I think I'm ready to stop lying."


	8. Chapter 8

_Author's Note: I can't help but feel Callen was OC in this chapter, but I did my best. I am sorry for the action-less chapters; I promise they will pick up in the next one. Please don't string me up if this chapter isn't all that great…it is kind of important. Reviews are the warm fudge brownies of my life. _

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Sam had never seen Callen so agitated before; and that was saying something. His partner seemed perplexed and irritated, glancing alternately at the basement door and his own hands. Sam carefully closed the icebox door and sat down across from Callen. He held out of the beers he had grabbed and Callen accepted it gratefully, clicking it against Sam's in a 'cheers' gesture.

There was a moment of comfortable silence as the two men took a drink, Sam waiting expectantly for whatever Callen was about to do. He doubted Callen would just open up completely, but at this point he would take whatever he could get. Callen finally looked at Sam.

"I know you were listening in; how much did you hear?"

Sam protested. "I wasn't listen-"

"Sam, I saw you standing behind the door. You are getting sloppy." Callen shrugged. Sam made a face.

"I heard most of it." He admitted. "About from when you said you hated the mind games."

Callen nodded, face carefully closed off. "That was one of the things he was best at."

Sam waited for his partner to continue, but Callen did not for a few minutes. "This feels weird."

Sam took a sip of beer and spoke. "You don't have to, G."

Callen shook his head sharply, just once. "No; it's not fair to you. I should have told you when this first started. That's what I would want you to do, if our places were switched. Deeks said that the sooner I let it out of its box, the sooner I could let it go. I just don't see how that will work; how does rehashing something over and over make it any better? It's something that happened three decades ago; wasting breath on it isn't going to change anything."

"You'll never know until you try, G." Sam shrugged. Callen took a long drink of beer, setting the bottle down with a small clatter. He stared at the frosty brown glass as if it had the all the answers on the label. "I don't know where to start."

Sam didn't push, Hetty's words ringing one more time through his head. Finally Callen whispered something Sam couldn't hear but suspected was a Russian curse word. He raised his voice loud enough for Sam to hear then. "He was a bastard; what more do you want to know?" The lame quip did not hide Callen's frustration and Sam took it as an actual plea for help. Sam decided to give him a gentle prompt.

"What was the crack he made about the stairs?" It was something that had been eating at Sam ever since it happened. Callen ran his finger around the rim of the beer bottle, as if he could conjure a reply out of the condensation.

"We're not starting there." Callen said firmly, heartening Sam to hear his friend's usual confidence in his voice. Even if it was an act. "I guess I better just…start at the beginning."

"That's usually a good place to start." Sam agreed with only a trace of humor in his voice, taking another sip of his drink. Callen snorted. Sam took it as a good sign that his partner was in a good enough mood to catch a joke; but he had a feeling it was going to change as soon as Callen got into his story.

"I knew he was bad news the first time I saw him." Callen started slowly. "I just had a bad feeling from him."

Sam watched his partner intently, listening to the words but mostly listening to what Callen didn't say. His partner was choosing each word carefully. Nate once mentioned Callen did that often; always planning what he was going to let slip, sorting his thoughts into what he would allow others to hear and what he would keep inside his own mind. It had been frustrating for the psychologist, and Sam could see why. But Nate, for all his insight and facts, didn't know Callen like Sam did. Hell, _Callen_ didn't know Callen like Sam did. The tone of certainty he always had was trembling slightly, and Sam knew the look on his face. He had seen it the day Callen talked about Jason to their spooked witness, he had seen it the day on the beach in Romania, and he had seen it earlier in the car. It was the look Callen got when he was remembering something he had blocked off, and he blocked things off for reasons only he would truly know. Sam waited patiently, knowing that Callen would continue in his own time.

"Sherry was one of the nicest people I had ever met; whenever she was around everything was fine. Normal, even. The first day I was there was a Saturday, and we all went on a picnic. Kimball acted much like the other foster dads I had had, friendly but a little distant. But Sherry warmed up to me instantly, and I thought maybe this place would be different."

The scorn in Callen's voice was clearly directed at himself and Sam flinched.

"Sunday was fine too; it was kind of like the calm before the storm." Callen took a long draw on his beer and Sam noticed in surprise it was almost empty, while Sam's was barely touched.

"But Monday…I came home from school and Kimball was there. I did something wrong; I think I broke a glass or something." He frowned. "I don't remember. But it made him mad. And I found out that it was very bad to make him mad." Sam heard it again; the careful picking of words, telling the truth but not revealing anything. Sam wanted to shake his stubborn partner but was surprised enough that Callen was telling him this much. "He knocked me around a bit. I...none of the other places had been violent. None of them had even sent me to my room, for Pete's sake. I guess I acted pretty scared; hell, I _was_ scared."

The bitterness was clear and Sam had to bite his tongue to keep from interrupting. He knew if he broke in Callen would never start again.

"I remember I started crying. That was when he started calling me GG…he told you why." Callen sounded…not ashamed exactly, but something close to it. "Anyway, I wound up with bruises all over my arms. When Sherry came home I told her I got in a fight at school. She believed me…she would believe me if I told her aliens had abducted me." Callen said with a slight smile. Sam could tell Callen had liked the woman; there was almost a reverence in his voice whenever he spoke of her. Sam had only heard Callen refer to the Rostoffs with similar warmth. Callen sighed with a slight tinge of frustration.

"I still don't get this. Anyway, it got worse. Every day, I would do something to make him mad, every day he would knock me around. God, I was pathetic, Sam. I didn't do anything; I got really good at running and hiding, though." The self-loathing was palpable and it was starting to grind on Sam. "It got really bad on a Saturday. Sherry had to cover for a coworker and it was just us two at the house. He lost something…this big box that was always by the door. He had told me to never, ever touch it. Well, he couldn't find it and he blamed me."

There was a very long pause and Sam felt like Callen was not going to continue. His partner had stood suddenly and was pacing now. Sam watched him with a slight frown. Callen's eyes were too bright…he was working through a puzzle. He had been distracted by something he had said. His eyebrows came close together, and he started mumbling.

"I feel like…that…should be important…" He trailed off then folded his arms. "Where was I?"

Sam opened his mouth but Callen cut him off. "Oh, right. Well, he found me on the top floor and decided the best way to teach me a lesson would be to…" Callen made a pushing gesture with one hand and Sam felt his anger rising. "Turn me into a human Slinky, I guess. But he got a little surprise." Callen suddenly grinned sharply. "Cause I took the bastard down with me."

Sam couldn't stop the sharp bark of laughter that came out, despite the seriousness of the conversation. Callen looked pleased with himself for a brief moment. "You serious?" Sam said without surprise.

"Yep. Grabbed him by the collar as I started falling and held on. I got a busted lip and a sprained ankle, but he got pretty busted up too." There was a definite tone of smugness, but it didn't last long. "Of course, that just made him more angry…he started getting creative after that." Callen shrugged. "Started using other things besides his fists. Belts, a wrench a couple times. Always careful that the bruises wouldn't show. I got better and better at hiding and avoiding him. But one night…he just went ballistic."

Callen was clearly not happy about talking, he seemed uncomfortable and frustrated. Sam held up a hand. "You can stop, G. You don't have to-"

"No. I got this far, I can finish." Callen said stubbornly. He closed his eyes and Sam saw that look again…a wall was coming down in Callen's head.

Callen took a deep breath. He really could not see the point of this, but he couldn't leave Sam hanging like that. He knew that if Sam was facing something dark from his past, he would be dragging it out of his partner if he had to tie him down to get it. He started speaking quickly, not allowing himself to think too long over his words. He owed Sam that much.

"He came home from work one day and he was livid about something. I just happened to get in the way. It was bad…worse than anything that I could remember. I remember he chased me through the whole damn house, throwing anything that wasn't nailed down at me. He got me cornered…I don't remember much about that."

_Broken glass…dark room…blood. He smelled blood. Kimball had slammed him down to the ground…he was curled up in a ball as Kimball kicked him over and over. He hadn't even done anything wrong this time. Why was this happening again? Kimball seemed out of breath and Callen felt himself stand, almost against his will. He shoved the much larger man away and started running. He slipped and stumbled several times, but never actually fell. He couldn't fall. Kimball was right behind him, swearing and yelling and murderous. Callen hit the front door hard, pushing the screen door open and skidding out onto the porch. He kept running, even though his sides hurt and he was having trouble seeing out of one eye. He was almost to the street…he felt himself stumble and careen into the mailbox. He was gasping for air, knowing it was all over. Kimball was going to catch him and he meant business this time. _

"_G! What's going on here?" _

_What was that voice…who was that voice…he looked up and saw their neighbor Jack Cornel looking down at him. Jack was in a dark blue uniform with something shiny on his chest…Jack was a cop? Callen realized in shock. He felt Jack pull him up gently. Jack's clean cut face was set in anger. _

"_Who did this to ya, pal?" _

_Callen gasped, raising a bleeding arm and pointing back to the house. "He…he…is going to kill me." _

"_Not on my watch." Jack said, standing in front of Callen, blocking him from Kimball, who had just burst the front door himself. _

_Callen had passed out about then, but from the reports Kimball had gotten in a fight with Jack, ending in his arrest._

"What happened then?" Sam asked gently, and Callen realized he had been talking the whole time he was remembering. He blinked, thinking back.

_They had found out Kimball had some kind of narcotic in his system at the time, but Callen knew he would have been just as cruel without it. The trial was long and drawn out; he had had to testify, and then was recalled by the defense, Kimball's lawyer hoping to poke holes in his story. But the evidence was so strong; there was only one verdict that could be given. _

_Callen thought it was all over when they pulled Kimball out of the courtroom. The man looked over his shoulder and sneered. "I'll be seeing you again, kid." _

_He remembered feeling like he was going to throw up, but Officer Jack had been right there to block him from Callen's view. A light hand touched his shoulder and he looked up to see a tearful Sherry. _

"_I am so sorry. I should have known. I should have seen." She said, pulling Callen close. "Can you ever forgive me?" _

_Called was surprised. "I…never blamed you." _

_She looked at him with a small smile. "None of this was about you, Bud. Remember that, okay? You are not the one to blame." _

Callen shrugged. "I didn't fight back. I never fought back. When I took him down with me? It was because I was trying not to fall myself. I never fought back, Sam. I avoided. I hid. I _ran_."

Sam was looking at him in understanding. "That's why you were so insistent to stay on this case."

"I'm not a ten year old boy anymore, Sam. I am not going to have him think I am still running. I'm not afraid of him anymore; I don't want to run from him. I just want to kill him every time I see his face. That isn't healthy, is it?" Callen said, trying to joke away the smarting he was feeling. He hated thinking back to his childhood at any point, especially the violent points. "Deeks was right; I didn't deal with this as well as I thought I did."

Callen stopped short. "Did I just say Deeks was _right_?"

Sam snorted. "Please don't say it again; it was disorienting enough the first time."

Callen forced a grin for a second. Sam was watching him intently, and Callen felt uncomfortable. "You feel better?" Sam asked.

"Not really." Callen said honestly. "I still hate the bastard. He still beat the hell out of me when I was a kid. I am still angry. I don't see how beating my lungs about it did anything."

Sam didn't answer his partner for a moment, then stood and walked over to his partner. He leaned against the counter beside Callen, staring at the wall for a second, as if considering his words. "It didn't do anything, Callen; except now you don't have to shoulder this alone. I know what's going on now. I can help you now. We can work through this together. "

Callen tilted his head at his partner. "Together." The word was dropped in that tone of voice Callen had perfected; the tone of scornful disbelief that disguised the thin evidence of hope. Sam nodded.

"You know. Jointly? Working with another person toward a common purpose? In cooperation? It's not that difficult a word." Sam said, jokingly serious.

Callen bumped his partner's shoulder. "I know what together means, Webster. It's just…how can you help me with this? This is kinda something I need to work through on my own."

"You're never on your own, G. You got me." Sam said firmly.

"Come on; get away from me with that Hallmark crap." Callen protested.

"I mean it, G. Don't even think you are going to go all loner on me. We're going to solve this case and relocate this guy someplace far, far away. And we are going to do it together." Sam's tone brooked no argument.

Callen couldn't help but smile. "Okay, okay. Together." There was a momentary pause. "Thanks, man."

Sam pulled Callen into a hug. "That's what I'm here for."

Callen felt himself tense up; then relax. He hugged Sam-the only friend he could ever remember having- back.

The agents pulled back, Sam still giving Callen a concerned glance. Callen suddenly heard his phone beep.

"Deeks says that Hetty wants us down there. ASAP." Callen read the text message. "Something about Kimball."

"You ready for this?" Sam asked, apprehensive. Callen gave a half frown. "I. Am. Fine. Sam." He accented each word and his partner held up his hands in surrender.

"Okay, okay!" He turned and opened the door to the basement, kicking the box of supplies out of his way. Callen felt something stir in his mind…something about a box…the box by the door. And something he had heard earlier…he remembered feeling like he should know something. That feeling was coming back…the feeling he should be putting something together. But once again…he couldn't remember what. And it was frustrating him.

"You coming?" Sam asked.

"Yeah…yeah." Callen nodded, following his partner woodenly. _If I can't remember it, it can't be too important. _He reasoned.

Now, if only he believed that.


	9. Chapter 9

Author's Note: To make up for the last two slower chapters, a lot happens in this one. And I apologize; there is another cliffy at the end of this one. But never fear! We are in the home stretch, and the story is almost over. Reviews are much appreciated; I love hearing from you guys! On with the story!

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Hetty was standing, face impassive as Callen and Sam arrived downstairs. Deeks looked very amused about something and Kimball just seemed bewildered.

"Mr. Kimball is free from injury aside from a slight headache; and he has something he wants to tell you."

Kimball glared at Hetty but the little woman seemed unruffled. "I recognize the guy from the pictures." He said dully.

"Really?" Sam said, interested. "Who?"

Hetty held out a picture…from where she was secreting it Sam did not know, and quite frankly would like to keep it that way. "Jason Denlany."

"A known drug dealer we have been keeping an eye on for a while." Sam clarified, seeing Deeks's confused expression. "He would have the resources and knowledge to produce a powdered plague. It would make sense that Briggins would be working with a drug dealer. And Denlany is one of the slipperiest."

"That still doesn't tell us where they are or what they are planning." Callen pointed out.

Deeks snorted. "Cheer up, Chicken Little!"

Sam hid a smile at the indignant glare Callen shot the liaison officer. "I am being realistic, Deeks; we are running out of time!"

"Oh my gosh! He _is_ Chicken Little!" Kensi said from the stairs.

"Not helping, Kens." Sam said quickly as Callen redirected his glare to the female agent.

"What did I miss?" She glossed over her little joke, not meeting her lead agent's eyes as she bit back a grin.

Hetty did not seem amused, but then again, it was Hetty. You never knew. "Our witness positively identified our kidnapper." She extended the photo to Kensi and the woman went serious.

"Denlany." She said quietly. "Been chasing this guy a while."

"Seriously? Does everyone know who these people are but me?" Deeks said in frustration.

Sam, Kensi, Callen and Hetty all spoke at the same time. "Yes!"

"We actually read our files." Callen pointed out.

"Don't look so smug, Agent Callen. At least Detective Deeks returns files when he is done with them, unlike certain agents I know who merely drop them onto an ever growing inbox."

Callen, properly rebuked, fell silent as Kensi looked up. "Denlany wasn't one of Briggins's known associates."

"Get Eric running down everything we have on Jason Denlany; I want last known addresses, known associates, shoe size for crying out loud." Hetty said. "The sky might not be falling, but Agent Callen is right; we are running out of time. Ms. Blye, Mister Deeks; get Brad Laurence over to the boatshed, I don't care what you tell the Department to get him there."

"Hey look, Sugarplum." Kimball suddenly broke in. "I did what you guys wanted me to do; I'm leaving now." He stood and started toward the stairs. Hetty's voice rang out like a whip.

"You will sit down, Mr. Kimball. And if you ever call me sugarplum again I will introduce you into a world of pain you did not know existed." The diminutive woman was standing in front of the large man, eyes glittering in a way Sam had never seen before. The agent was a little scared of her himself, but Kimball didn't seem to know when to quit.

"You can't threaten your witness. You should know that." Kimball said, looking down at the woman who barely came to his hip.

"Watch me." Hetty said in the quiet tone the agents knew all too well. Kimball hesitated, then sat back down. Hetty turned to her team without sparing him a second glance.

"We'll check in with Eric, you guys heard Hetty. Timer's running and we don't know where the clock is." Callen said, firmly taking charge of his team. "Let's do this!" The genuine resolution in his partner's voice raised Sam's spirits instantly. He could still see how Callen was looking anywhere other than where Kimball sat, but frankly, so was everyone else.

"You got it, Chief." Deeks said, gently tugging Kensi toward the stairs, then stopped. "Who is going to stay with Jolly over there?" He motioned with his head toward Kimball.

Hetty cleared her throat. "I need you all working. I will stay with the asset."

"Alone? Are you sure?" Deeks asked in surprise. Hetty folded her lips.

"Mr. Deeks, I was protecting witnesses when you were still in diapers. I can manage. Now, go!" She waved her hand once, and that was all it took to send the agents running.

Sam and Callen went into the Op Center quietly, stopping short when they saw the computer techs. Nell was sitting cross-legged on a desk, staring at her handheld computer and playing with her hair, faced creased in anticipation. The blonde man was standing on his chair, pencil gripped between his teeth and he was muttering under his breath. "Come on, come on, come on… no!"

"Eric?" Callen asked, amusement leaking through in his voice. The bespectacled man started to turn and almost fell off.

"Guys! Unusually horrible timing!" He seemed disappointed. "We are still sifting through power plants. We have nothing new."

"Don't worry about that. We need you to track Jason Denlany. Kimball recognized him as our kidnapper; we need to know everything we can about him. And fast." Sam said.

"Yes, sir!" Nell said, enthusiasm returning to her eyes. Eric was already typing away at his computer, also excited.

Callen heard his cell phone go off and picked it up. "Kensi." He said by way of greeting.

"Laurence is missing. No one knows where he is, and no one can reach him on his cell phone."

"He knows we're onto him." Callen said. "Nell, pull up Laurence's cell phone; he's rabbiting on us."

The red head obeyed. "It's not on. He's smart enough not to be traced. He's off the grid."

"Damn it." Callen hit the wall beside him. "How did he know… how could he know."

Something stirred in his head, but Eric's sudden declaration broke his concentration.

"Guys, I got something!" The tech waved Callen and Sam over.

Eric charged ahead. "Denlany and Briggins have one common vector. Agent Bradley Laurence; turns out he investigated both and reported that he had insufficient evidence that either were up to anything illegal. About a week after the unrelated investigations, he received substantial amounts of money, that only showed up on his account long enough to be transferred who knows where." Eric was bringing things up on the screen with lightening speed, and Callen had to hurry to keep up.

"Eric! Slow down." He said, not harshly but firmly. "How many cups of coffee have you had today?"

"Thirteen. And two Red Bulls. But that isn't relevant." Eric said, bringing up another slide. "What is relevant is the fact that Laurence is a direct link between the two; and he is clearly on the payroll for both. Guess what else? Exactly one year after the inexplicable transfer, Laurence is asked to look into Denlany again, but mysteriously refused; claiming that he felt his cover had been compromised and didn't want to push his luck. Six months later, he is assigned to Dr. Frement's protection detail, and boom. Missing doc."

Sam frowned. "So now we have our link…but where are the perps?"

"Um, I don't know if this is important…" Nell said, appearing beside Callen noiselessly.

"It usually is." Eric said and Callen nodded for the analyst to continue.

"Well, I have two different factories here that releasing a lot of energy that doesn't really match up with what they are. In fact, one is supposed to be abandoned." She brought it up on the big screen.

"A fertilizer plant?" Callen said in mild surprise.

Nell nodded. "Closed down one year ago; but was never cleared out. It still has all its equipment, including the machines used to create powdered fertilizer." She said with emphasis. "The sudden surge of power started the day Dr. Frement was kidnapped."

"Whoa, zoom in, Nell." Eric said suddenly. He pointed at the lower left of the screen. "That's Laurence's car!"

"Call the others. We got him, we got him." Callen said. "I need full tactical teams on that factory, now!"

"I'll call Hetty." Sam said, following his partner out of the communications room at a fast pace. Eric and Nell instantly set up the communication links between all the agents, coordinating the raid with their usual precision.

It did not take long for the agents to arrive at the factory.

"We need to be careful! The doctor could still be alive; no unnecessary gunfire, okay?" Sam told Deeks and Kensi.

"Aren't we waiting for tactical?" Kensi asked in surprise. She was answered by three black vans pulling up, armored agents jumping out and falling into position, waiting for Callen's signal. "Oh."

Eric buzzed in each of the agent's earpieces. "Guys, something is wrong; get out of there!"

"What's wrong, Eric?" Callen asked sharply.

"The only human heat sources are you guys. There is no one in there, but there was just a huge surge of power in the factory…and its building."

"It's a trap!" Sam yelled, waving everyone back. "Run!"

Tactical teams and OSP agents alike obeyed, putting as much distance between them and the building as possible before-

BOOM! The explosion knocked several agents off their feet, including Callen and Sam. Burning debris from the building landed all around them, and they through their hands up to protect their heads. A second explosion rocked them again, then a third. Then there was no more.

"What is it with these guys and blowing things up?" Sam yelled from a foot away from Callen. "You good?"

"I'm good." Callen shouted back, sitting up as soon as he was sure the peril of falling rubble was over. "Deeks? Kensi?"

"We're good!" Kensi said from the other side of a tactical van. "Doesn't look like anyone is hurt."

"How did they know we were coming?" Callen asked, looking at the demolished building.

"They've been one step ahead of us the whole time." Sam agreed, holding out a hand to help Callen up. Kensi and Deeks, looking a little battered but alright, came over to them. Callen took Sam's proffered hand and stood, frowning heavily.

White fertilizer powder was falling like snow from the demolished building, sparking something in his memory.

_Sherry had told him to never tough the box; it was locked tight and beside the door from the first day. Sherry didn't know what was in it, she said; but 'Dennis is very protective of it. I think it has something to do with running the factory.' She had said. 'Just pretend it isn't there.' _

_And he had tried…but one night he saw Kimball talking with another man, standing by the box. The man shook hands with Kimball and handed him a stuffed envelope. Kimball handed him one in return, lumpier then the other one. The man left, and Kimball started putting several small bags inside the box, filled with white powder. Callen didn't know what that was, and came closer. He wasn't touching the box, after all, and they never said he couldn't ask what was in it…_

'_Is that flour? From the factory?' He asked curiously. Kimball whirled on him. 'You spying on me, boy? I knew it!' _

_That had been what he had done wrong, that final night. He had seen something he was never supposed to see. _

"Nell…what was the other factory? You said there was two." Callen said, feeling his throat constrict. The other agents looked at him curiously, waiting for Nell to respond through their earpieces.

Nell spoke quickly. "Raker's Baked Good Supplies."

"_Where does Dennis work?" Called asked Sherry the second day he was there. He had been curious; he had lived with a dentist, a doctor, a lawyer, a construction worker, and a whole group of other occupations. He wanted to see if he could add anything else to that list. Sherry smiled. _

"_His mother's family started a factory here years ago. She left it to him in her will; so he is the owner of the whole thing." _

"_Really?" Callen had thought that was interesting. Machines and factories fascinated him. Sherry had nodded. "Yep. And the best part is? We get free sugar, so you can use as much as you want on your cereal." _

_She handed him a bag of the sweetener, with 'Raker's Baked Good Supplies' emblazoned on the front. _

"They specialize in packaging sugar, salt-"

"Flour." Callen finished. "Son of a…that is where Briggins is. With the doctor. We need to get there now; they think we fell for the trap. If we strike now they won't be expecting us!"

"What's the address, Eric?" Sam asked, Kensi already notifying the tactical teams of the change in location.

"Sending it to your phones now." Eric said. "Do you guys want me to call Hetty?" Sam turned to where his partner was standing and started.

"Callen's gone, Eric! Where the hell is he?" He looked around, Kensi and Deeks searching too. Suddenly Sam reached into his pocket. "Oh, I'm going to kill him."

"What?" Deeks asked.

"He stole my car. He swiped my keys and stole my car."

"Why would he do that?" Kensi asked in surprise. "We are going where he told us to go."

"But _he _isn't." Sam said. "I have no idea what the hell he is doing."

Callen screeched the car to a stop outside of the safe house and drew his gun as he ran up the front steps. He kicked the door as hard as he could and it gave way with little resistance.

Kimball was sitting in the kitchen, gun to Hetty's head. "So, you figured it out, did ya?" He had a cruel smile on his face.

"Pretty clever trick; having us protect you while you were responsible for this the whole time. I knew Briggins didn't plan this on his own, it isn't his style. But it would be his style to collaborate with someone…someone with resources to help him with his own agenda." Callen said, keeping his gun trained on Kimball.

"So far so good." Kimball said with a slight smirk.

"You watched us; when we got too close you made sure something happened that sent us in the wrong direction, like sending those goons to shoot us up at the last place. That's how Laurence knew we were looking for him; that's why the fertilizer factory was rigged to explode when we got there." Callen kept talking, hoping to distract the man away from Hetty.

"But what Briggins didn't realize is you were planning to double cross him. Once he did whatever you wanted, you were going to play the witness for real; by then you could clean any evidence that it was your factory that was used to make the virus. You would even have enough time to hide your drug business."

Kimball's face actually flinched.

"How long you been dealing, Kimball? At least thirty years." Callen said, watching for the slightest opening to reach the man. "It is the perfect front; who would suspect bags of white powder coming from a factory that processes sugar? That's why you picked out Denlany. You could get rid of your highest competition by implementing him in the attack. You know Denlany is a shoot first kind of guy; he wouldn't be taken alive, which leave no one to say he had nothing to do with it. You would be in the clear, your revenge would be taken, and you would still have your profitable business."

Kimball laughed. "Damn. You sure got this pegged, don't you?" He tilted his head at Callen. "But did you know it's too late? The virus was ready last night. I already had Briggins build the dirty bomb and hide it. It's going to go off in about an hour, wiping out half of this city. And there is nothing you can do about it."

"We'll see about that." Callen shot back. Kimball just chuckled. "It's a shame, GG. Sherry really liked you. This is going to hurt me as much as it will hurt you."

Callen saw Kimball raise his gun at him, and he saw Hetty spin around, intent on knocking the gun out of the man's hand.

"Hetty, no!" Callen shouted, but it was too late. Kimball backhanded the small woman hard, and she fell, hitting her head against the counter. She crumpled like a rag doll and did not move.

Something inside Callen snapped.


	10. Chapter 10

_Author's note: We are getting close to the end; this was a bit shorter than the other chapters but a lot happens in it. There will one more chapter…possibly two. I hope you all enjoyed the story this far! And I promise, this is the last cliffy. Promise. Reviews are greatly loved! _

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Callen put emotions in boxes, cages, behind walls. Emotions clouded judgment; clouded judgment got you killed. He was very careful, keeping those walls in place and those cages locked. But when he saw Hetty crumple to the floor, all the walls came crashing down.

Kimball still had a grip on the gun, and Callen instinctively twisted to the side as he saw the man raise it. The crack of gunfire resounded through the house, bullet shattering a window in the living room. The momentary recoil gave Kimball pause, and a moment was all Callen needed. He fired himself, gun shuddering in his hand. Kimball was fast, faster than Callen assumed; he ducked with agility of a younger man and Callen's bullet went wild. Kimball raised his gun and began firing in quick succession. Callen ducked behind the kitchen island, protecting his head as wood chips flew up from the small counter he was using as a shield. He looked over at Hetty's still form and felt anger course through his mind, blocking out rational thought. Kimball was going to pay.

As soon as Kimball stopped firing, Callen poked around the corner and began firing himself. Kimball had taken refuge behind the half wall that separated the kitchen from the living room. The firefight went on for what seemed liked hours, but Callen knew was only seconds. Then he heard the horrible click of his gun, signaling the clip was empty. He estimated Kimball's would also be unloaded by now, but he couldn't be sure.

"You ready to give up, GG?" He heard Kimball say. "I got extra ammo and I don't think you do."

Callen reached for his spare clip and cursed inwardly to find it wasn't in his pocket like it should be. There was a moment of silence, then he heard Kimball take a step around his protecting wall. The floorboards creaked as he came closer. Callen looked up in fury to see Kimball standing over him, gun trained at his head.

"I'm going to admit; I didn't know you were working this case. It's almost a double victory." Kimball was saying. "I always swore I was going to make you pay for taking eighteen years away from me; eighteen years I was away from Sherry."

Callen was swallowing down anger; he knew charging the man would be suicide. He slowly set his empty gun down, and Kimball showed no concern. The man glanced over at Hetty. "So sorry about your boss; I'll be sure to send flowers."

Suicide or not, Callen snapped. He lunged at the man, catching Kimball by surprise. He heard the gun hit the ground and slide just out of reach. Kimball and Callen struggled, each one trying to get the better hold on the other. Callen found an opening and began hitting Kimball in the face, but the other man dodged a blow and managed to roll on top of Callen, pinning him down and wrapping his hands around Callen's throat.

Callen brought his head up sharply, colliding his forehead into the bridge of Kimball's nose. He heard the bone break and Kimball released him, cursing. Callen kicked at the man viciously until Kimball rolled off of him, blood streaming from his nose and his eyes glinting with that crazy anger that Callen used to run from.

He wasn't running now.

Kimball dived at Callen, trying to get the upper hand in the fight while Callen still lay on his back. Callen jumped up easily, hours and hours of training for such fight situations paying off as he avoided the larger man's attack easily. He kicked the man sharply in the back, aiming for a kidney blow. Kimball gave an angry howl and spun around, catching Callen in the knees, causing both men to crash to the floor.

They rolled over and over, Callen hissing as Kimball slammed him against a wall. Pain bloomed across his lower back, and his head clouded for a second. But he had no time to dwell on it; he was too busy keeping Kimball from getting a strangle hold on him again. Kimball suddenly got off of Callen and ran for the gun that had slid across the hallway almost to the bathroom. Callen ran after him; he couldn't let Kimball get the gun. He tackled the man to the ground, kicking the gun out of reach one more time. Kimball punched him squarely in the jaw, causing red stars to dance in front of his eyes, but Callen didn't let go of his tormenter. He had Kimball in a choke hold for a moment, but Kimball brought his elbow back into his solar plexus repeatedly until Callen was forced to let go.

Both men got to their feet, both winded but neither giving up. Kimball crashed into Callen, and Callen was propelled back against the bathroom sink. He felt the mirror break behind his head and felt a dozen little white hot pricks in the back of his head and neck. He dodged Kimball's fist and the man cursed as his hand was cut by the broken glass. Kimball was showing his fatigue, but Callen was too angry to feel much pain or tiredness.

Kimball tried to pry Callen's hands off of his own throat to no avail; the smaller man hung on like a terrier on a bone. Kimball used his free hand to punch Callen again, this time hard enough to daze him.

Kimball broke free and started running, trying to find the gun again; but he was no match for the younger man. Callen caught him easily, pinning the man down and began hitting him. He couldn't stop. He hit the man for Hetty. For Sam, almost being shot on this man's orders. For his teammates that were almost killed by an explosion, ordered by this man. For a brown haired woman with laughing eyes that would forever live with a crushing guilt. But most of all, for a little boy with terrified blue eyes that had his trust broken for the first time, and swore it would be the last. For a little boy that was too scared to intervene when his older foster brother was beaten to death in front of him; because he knew he couldn't stop it. For a little boy that grew into a teenager that was suspicious of everything and everyone. For a man that locked away everything he felt until he couldn't hold it back any longer.

He suddenly became aware he was yelling, and Kimball wasn't struggling anymore. Callen looked down at the man, fist still cocked for another blow. Kimball looked up at him weakly and gave a bloody-mouthed grin.

"You still think I'm the monster?" He said is a raspy voice. "You think killing me is going to make you any stronger? Go ahead…do it. A couple more good knocks should do it. You're this far…why stop now?"

Callen braced his fist, not allowing the man to get inside his head again.

"What are you waiting for? Kill me!" The other man shouted, bloody spittle hitting Callen's face. "Kill me!"

"Callen! Stop!" He heard a voice cut through the room. Sam. He looked up in surprise, seeing his partner running towards him, gun drawn. "Callen, get off of him."

"Sam?" Callen looked down at the pinned man, and recognized the crazy glint there.

"Kill me! You know you want to!" Kimball said, laughing hoarsely.

"Callen, listen to me. He isn't worth it." Sam was standing right there, voice calm and gentle. "Let him go back to prison, where he belongs. Don't let him get to you."

Callen looked from his persecutor to his partner then back. For the first time he saw the façade Kimball wore crack, and he saw him for what he was. The monster from Callen's nightmares was gone and in his place was a scared old man who had had his last bluff called. Finally he felt his fist drop and he slowly stood up.

"Good, Callen. Good." Sam was saying, gun still aimed at the prone man, even though he had seemed to fall unconscious. He holstered it as Callen gasped out.

"Why are you here? You were supposed to be finding Briggins-"

"Deeks and Kensi can take care of it; they have three tactical teams with them." Sam said, then paused. "Where's Hetty?"

"Hetty!" Callen said in a strangled voice, running to where she had fallen. He anxiously felt for a pulse and breathed in relief; it was there, but threaded.

"What happened?" Sam asked, although he could guess. "What's going on here?"

"She hit her head; we need to get her to a hospital." Callen said, leaning down to pick up the small woman. He suddenly felt dizzy. Sam cautioned him. "Easy, buddy. You aren't too much better off."

"Sam, she needs to get to a hospital. I'm fine." He said, frowning at his partner.

"Easy, G. We'll get her there." Sam said.

"How did you know where I was?" Callen asked suddenly.

"How else? Eric tracked your cell phone." Sam folded his arms. "He also found the connection between Kimball and the factory. Why didn't you just tell me?"

Callen opened his mouth to speak and heard a gunshot. He frowned, mind not processing the sound instantly. Then he realized Kimball was standing, bracing himself against the doorframe, the gun they had been fighting over extended. A light fixture an inch away from Callen's face shattered.

Sam spun around, drawing and firing his weapon without thinking. Kimball looked surprised down at his chest, falling slowly to the ground. Sam never missed. Kimball did not get back up.

Callen looked at the unmoving man with a stunned expression.

"You okay?" Sam asked in concern. Callen nodded, dazed.

"Good. Because you have a lot of explaining to do, like…why the hell you stole my car."

"Later. We need to get Hetty out of here." Callen said firmly, and Sam agreed with him.

The two agents had carried their boss to Sam's car and raced her to a doctor that was an approved clearance asset. He assured them he would handle Hetty's situation discreetly. He wanted to examine Callen as well, but the agent refused. Sam was about to insist when his phone rang.

"Kensi. What's up?"

"Did you find Callen?"

"Yes; we had to take Hetty to Point Saul."

Kensi knew the code name for their private doctor. "Oh my God. Is she…"

"Don't know yet. What happened on the raid?" Sam said to prevent Kensi from getting distracted.

"We got Dr. Frement safe and sound. Four of the Illuminators have been apprehended…one casualty, none of ours. That's the good news. Bad news; Frement said the virus was ready last night. Briggins is no where around and there is plenty of evidence of bomb-building around. Only thing is..." Kensi sounded worried. "The bomb is nowhere around, but there is a computer with a countdown clock running."

"How much time is left?" Sam asked, Callen hovering an inch away.

"Thirty-seven minutes."


	11. Chapter 11

_Author's Note: Thank you so much for all your kind reviews! There will be one more chapter, which should be uploaded tomorrow. I wanted distinction between this chapter and the ending chapter. Another note: Union Station is a real place that has been on NCIS: LA before; I do not own it, and I did a little creative liberty with their alarm system, etc. The arrival/departure sign is also real, again; took a little creative license. _

_NCIS:LA NCIS:LA NCIS:LA _

Sam caught Callen up in as few of words as possible; Kensi and Deeks on speaker.

Callen suddenly stood straight, Sam wincing at the look of pain that crossed his partner's face for half an instant. Sam recognized the look in Callen's eyes…he was thinking very, very hard about something.

"Kimball said he had Briggins already hide the bomb."

Sam did a double take. "Kimball _had _Briggins hide the bomb? Isn't Briggins running the show? Why would he listen to anything Kimball said?"

"Because Kimball was the one in charge this whole time." Callen hissed as he tilted his head.

"What?" All three of the other agents gasped.

"Long story; no time. But Kimball was in charge; he was looking for revenge."

"Against what?" Sam asked.

Callen fell silent for a moment, eyes unfocused like he was staring past the beige walls of the doctor's office.

"Sherry was the only thing Kimball ever truly cared about, and the only thing she truly hated was LA. He probably blames the city for taking her away from him; he wants it to suffer. She always said there was too many people here… in his twisted mind he might even think he is fulfilling a last wish by thinning out the population."

Sam frowned. "Great. That bomb could be anywhere."

Callen seemed to be distracted, as if lost so deep in his thoughts he could not hear anything. He brought a hand up and began rubbing his head. Sam felt a pang of worry; bruises mottled any exposed surface of Callen's body and he was covered in blood. He really hoped it was Kimball's, but he knew some of it had to be his partner's. The white bandage Deeks had so carefully applied earlier was stained red and Sam could count at least three long cuts on the back of Callen's head and neck. He frowned, knowing that Callen should be lying in a bed next to Hetty, getting his own injuries checked out and treated. But he also knew that would never happen while Callen could still stand on his own; even if there wasn't a bomb threat.

"If he is trying to hit a lot of people at once, we're looking at a crowded area." Kensi said, startling Sam-he had forgotten the other half of the team was still on speakerphone. Eric suddenly buzzed inside their earpieces.

"Guys, I have Briggins on camera!" He sounded breathless. "And you aren't going to like this."

"Do we ever?" Sam asked.

"What is it, Eric?" Callen asked quickly.

"He was at Union Station." The computer tech sounded frantic. "Do you know what that means?"

Sam's breath seemed to disappear from his lungs on the way to his throat; rendering him incapable of replying. Union Station was the main converging point for masses of bus, subway, and train lines in Los Angeles. Thousands upon thousands of people went through the station daily. It would be the perfect place for Briggins and Kimball's plan; the concussion from the bomb would kill hundreds, but the virus would be carried all over the city in a matter of hours. They had defended the Station before; they knew exactly how hard it would be to find a small container in less than a half hour.

But they didn't have time to be caught off guard; the clock stood at twenty- four minutes, according to Kensi. The two agents started running out of the building, heading for Sam's car. Eric informed them he was a second away from tripping every alarm in the place; causing a complete evacuation.

"Just waiting on your order, Chief." He said, and Callen snapped instantly. "Do it."

"Our ETA is ten minutes." Kensi said, and from the whistling static Sam and Callen assumed she was running. She hung up sharply. Eric was still online, coordinating everyone.

"Ours is seven." Sam said as he slid into the passenger's side; realizing an instant too late that he had gotten in the wrong side. Callen hit the gas with considerable more force than necessary and Sam gripped the door handle for dear life.

"Make that four." He amended. "Did you-"

"Called LAPD and the DoD and informed them of a possible biohazard. But they won't be in position for another fifteen minutes." Eric sounded stressed. "There. One of the busiest stations in the world will hopefully be empty in five minutes. Briggins disappeared off of my cameras, guys. I had him pinned down towards the west wing, but that's all I got."

Sam ground his teeth as Callen slammed the car to an abrupt halt, pulling to the side of the street. People were streaming out of the stately white building, unsure whether to panic or not. Callen and Sam pushed through the crowd, people giving the bloody lead agent frightened looks and Sam was trying to act like nothing was wrong.

"We're in, Eric." Sam said as he flashed his badge at a nervous looking employee that tried to stop them from entering. His eyes swept around the historic station, unsure what he was looking for. He did notice that there were still too many people; not enough were actually evacuating. He spotted Callen running as soon as they got inside. Confused, he followed his partner, ignoring the glances and demands for explanations from the patrons of the locality.

He glanced over his shoulder as he heard his name and saw Kensi and Deeks. He motioned them to take the other half of the building. Eric spoke quickly.

"You have roughly seventeen minutes; and from what Dr. Frement has told me the virus has to be kept warm to stay alive. I would suggest looking around something with a lot of electronic power; it has the right amount of heat to incubate the virus without overheating it or chilling it."

"There's a lot of electronics in here, Eric!"

"I'm trying to get a heat map for the building, but I don't think I have time." Nell cut in, her voice sounding frazzled and discouraged.

"Sam! I think I got it!" Callen yelled suddenly from right in front of Sam, and the agent saw his partner fixated by a black and green electronic marquee; arrivals and departures emblazoned across its screen.

"You sure, Callen?" Sam asked, unsure what was fleeting through his partner's mind. He was pretty sure Callen had gone overboard when he saw his colleague hop the brass rails around the large sign and break the glass of the fire extinguisher on the side of the wood paneled monolithic indicator.

"Positive!" Callen shouted, waving his partner close. Sam looked over his partner's shoulder and felt time slow. The alarms were still blaring loudly; people were still getting out of the building, and the clock was still running. Sam was aware of all of these things in the back of his mind. But what he was most painfully aware of the fact that the fire extinguisher was gone; in its place was a medium device with wires running into the back of the small compartment; he assumed into the heart of the sign. There was no red numbers counting down the time, not clear indication of anything was amiss except the loud ticking.

"Eric, how much time do we have?" Callen asked, looking at Sam for only an instant.

"A little over twelve minutes." He responded.

"Bomb squad will be there in eight." Nell cut in.

"That's cutting it too close; I'm sending you a picture of the device right now. Walk me through it." Callen said, using his phone to take a picture of the bomb.

"Callen, you're crazy! You don't know how to diffuse a bomb! Especially not a dirty one." Sam protested; Kensi and Deeks joining the two by the sign. The other two agents grew pale at the sight of the device.

"Look, you can leave if you want. But I am not taking the chance that the bomb squad gets caught in traffic." Callen snapped.

"I'm not going anywhere, and you know it." Sam said quietly.

"Deeks, Kensi, get out." Callen barked, ignoring his partner.

"Callen, we're not-" Deeks started.

"Go! Now! Get out." He motioned toward the doors insistently. "That's an order!"

Kensi folded her arms and Deeks shook his head. "If you are staying, we are staying."

Callen growled angrily, but Eric prevented further argument.

"Okay, from what I can see; the timer unit and the container holding the virus are wired together; the powder will be released before the actual explosion. About five minutes after the powder releases, boom. It is a basic wiring job; as soon as I can trace the main wire back into the timing unit, you can cut it and we should be all set."

"Start tracing, Eric!" Sam snapped.

"I…think it is the green wire."

"You think?" Kensi snapped.

"I am sure! It's the green wire!" Eric said with certainty in his voice. "At least…I'm…pretty sure."

"If you are wrong what happens?" Sam asked as Called grasped the green wire and positioned his knife.

"Um…boom." Eric said shakily.

Callen shot a glance upwards. "Get. Out. Now."

"No." All three agents said at the same time.

"Callen…" Sam started, but his partner wasn't listening.

"Are you _certain_, Eric?" The lead agent said quietly.

"Yes." Came the response. "I have no doubt."

"If you are wrong, and we all die, I am going to haunt you for the rest of your life." Deeks whispered.

Callen took a deep breath and jerked his knife upwards, severing the green wire neatly. The ticking stopped, and all four agents gasped, not realizing they had been holding their breaths.

"You lunatic!" Sam yelled instantly, grabbing Callen and spinning him around. "You just touched a bomb full of a virus; a bomb you had no idea how to diffuse. What were you thinking?"

"Sam, what is the problem? I fixed it." Callen asked with genuine confusion in his eyes.

"Why did you put yourself in danger? Why couldn't you wait for the professionals?"

Nell cut in. "There's a four car pileup three blocks away; bomb squad has been delayed. They wouldn't have made it in time."

Callen shot a look at Sam. The larger man let go of his partner's shoulders. "Don't you say it…don't you say it…"

"What? I told you so?" Callen asked with a slight trace of humor. "Let's get away from this thing; it could be covered in the Tayga powder."

"Guys, LAPD just got Briggins on one of the subways. We got them all." Nell sounded tired. Sam knew how she felt. It had been a long day. Sam glanced over at Kensi and Deeks; the detective explaining what was going on to the LAPD. He decided to let the liaison do his job. Sam glanced over at his partner, bloody and battered.

"You want to go check on Hetty?" He asked. Callen nodded.

"You need to get checked out too." Sam mentioned.

"No, I'm fine." Callen said quickly.

"You are not fine, G! I think I see pieces of glass in your head!"

"I am fine!"

Sam sighed. The day was about to get longer.


	12. Chapter 12

_Author's Note: And so it draws to a close. I have mixed emotions; I am glad to actually finish it, and saddened at the same time. Thank you all for your amazing and wonderful support! I will be starting on one of my other plotlines either today or tomorrow; and I hope to see you all then! Wishing you much love and imagination-Elle_

_NCIS:LA NCIS:LA NCIS:LA _

Hetty was awake and alert when Sam and Callen visited her; under an assumed name in one of the smaller, quieter hospitals. Their doctor assured them that there was no internal bleeding or swelling, and she would be back to work in no more than two days. Then they went in to see the feisty woman.

To say she was less than pleased that Callen had refused medical attention would be a gross understatement. Sam had to admit seeing his tough partner try to explain his way out of a full examination was amusing, but ineffective. Protesting the entire time, Callen had been whisked away by their doctor, almost as if Hetty and he had prearranged it.

Hetty then demanded and received a full report on the Tayga situation; not showing remorse or surprise when Sam informed her he had taken lethal action against Kimball. She then ordered him to go home; dismissing him for the day.

But Sam could not wind down; he headed to the office to complete paperwork. His mind was racing and finally he let the pen fall to his desk with a clatter. He rested his head in his hands and took a deep breath, at last allowing the adrenaline that had built up to drain out.

"You sleeping on the job again?" Kensi's voice was teasing. He glanced up and saw her and Deeks settling down at their desks too.

"Didn't Hetty dismiss you guys? Send you home?" The older man frowned. Deeks raised an eyebrow, but it was not his voice that answered.

"Didn't she send _you_ home?" Callen asked as he sank into his chair, scratching at a fresh white bandage.

Sam didn't respond, just surveyed his partner head to toe. Callen was much cleaner, and the bruises didn't look as angry. The cuts and scrapes looked well treated and the little bits of glass-the doctor confirmed the broken mirror had embedded small pieces in his cuts- were gone. Satisfied, Sam returned to his paperwork.

Callen was a little surprised Sam didn't reply, but Kensi and Deeks monopolized his attention for a moment.

"Did the doctor let you go or did you escape?" Kensi said laughingly, but concerned.

"There was no reason for him to hold onto me; I thought I would get my report done before I went home." Callen shrugged, wincing at the pain in his shoulder he felt at the action. Deeks explained that LAPD had successfully handled the situation at Union Station.

"They're going to get all the credit, of course; but Briggins and his cohorts are going away for the rest of their lives; _if_ they are lucky." Deeks concluded.

"What are they going to do with Point Charlie?" Callen said with little emotion; noticing Sam sent him a glance, but then returned to his paperwork. Callen almost felt hurt.

"The body was…taken care of." Deeks said carefully, obviously not comfortable talking about it with Callen. Kensi, in a blatant attempt to spare her partner more embarrassment, distracted Callen.

"I still don't know how you could have known where the bomb was?" She asked, tilting her head.

Callen paused, feeling a small smile play across his face. "Sherry once told me she wished that whole sign would show nothing but departures. I just guessed."

Kensi gave a short laugh. "Lucky guess."

Callen nodded, glancing over at Sam. His partner did not look up. Frowning, Callen grabbed his own file and began to viciously fill out the lines, digging his pen into the paper forcefully. Kensi noticed the little exchange; so did Deeks. They looked at each other; eyes widened, and looked at their own desks quickly.

Silence descended as the agents worked, broken only when Nell and Eric stopped by to say good night. They had no surprise in their eyes when they spotted all four agents, although neither looked happy that Callen wasn't home resting.

"Hetty is going to be steamed tomorrow." Nell cautioned. Callen shrugged again, this time keeping his face from flinching.

"I think she'll understand." Callen said quietly. "Good work today."

Eric and Nell glanced at each other and shut off all the lights except for the bullpen's, then left. A few minutes later, Kensi could no longer stifle her yawns.

"I am heading home, guys." She stood, grabbing her jacket tiredly.

"You okay to drive, Kens? You're pretty exhausted." Deeks said with concern. "Want me to give you a lift home?"

The dark-haired woman paused, then nodded. "Thanks, Deeks." Her partner stood and grabbed his keys.

"See you guys tomorrow." He said faux-cheerfully. "Another day in paradise! And Callen?"

The lead agent looked up. "Yes?"

Deeks reached over and tapped his white bandage. "Try not to let it fester. It gets worse the longer it sits."

Callen frowned slightly. He knew Deeks didn't mean his wounds; but the two agents were gone before he could reprove Deeks for trying to be Hetty. But then again, Hetty might have told Deeks to say that for all he knew. He rolled his eyes and looked at Sam, expecting his partner to be looking at him and they would share their little laugh and head shake like they always did.

Sam was not looking at him.

Callen frowned, rolling his pen between his fingers. "You ignoring me?"

Sam didn't answer; he didn't even show any sign he had heard Callen.

"You're mad." It wasn't a question. Callen knew his partner enough to know that set of his shoulders.

"I'm not mad." Sam finally said. "Just disappointed."

"Is this about stealing your car? I'm sorry. I took good care of it; didn't even scratch it." Callen said, and that sparked a reaction in his partner.

Sam looked up wearily. "It isn't just about stealing the car, G."

"Then what is it?" Callen frowned.

"It was that you felt you _had _to steal the car." Sam's voice was strained like he was holding something back.

"I didn't think I had time to explain everything to you, Sam." Callen said, trying to apologize without saying it.

"What makes you think you had to explain everything? How many times have I gone along with your crazy plans not knowing everything?" Sam shook his head, and Callen could see his partner was angry, despite what he said.

Callen paused. "I am sorry, Sam. I…didn't think."

"No, you didn't!" Sam exploded, causing Callen to flinch. Sam instantly scaled his voice back, but the anger and pain was still there. "You didn't think about anyone but yourself!"

Callen's head snapped up and saw his partner staring at him sadly. "We said we would do this together. Do you know what together means anymore, G? Do you still trust me?"

"Of course I trust you, Sam!" Callen said instantly, eyes locked with Sam. "Do you still trust _me_?"

Sam was silent for a long time. "Yes, I still trust you. But you are scaring me, G."

"_Scaring_ you?" That was something Callen had never heard Sam say before.

"You get all defensive and angry when Kimball shows up-understandably, I will give you that, but I have never seen you that detached before. Then, you go all crazy on me, disappearing and stealing my car. Then, when I finally track you down; I find you beating the hell out of a man, and it didn't look like you were going to stop!" Callen started to speak, but Sam wasn't finished. "And then you throw yourself into that bomb thing without thinking; like you have nothing to lose. It scares me that you push me away; it scares me into thinking you are going to go get yourself into something I can't help you with. "

There was a long moment, then Callen spoke. "I am sorry, Sam. For everything. You are right…I didn't think. And I pushed you away. I am sorry." He repeated, looking down at his desk.

Sam was grateful Callen at least apologized. He felt tired. He shook his head once, then let out a small sigh.

"I can't stay mad at you when you are doing that."

"Doing what?" Callen glanced up part way.

"You know what; that kicked puppy routine you got." Sam shook his head again. "You do that when you feel guilty. And you _should_ feel guilty; this case was tough on all of us, watching you struggle with it. I'm not mad; I understand. Just…promise me you won't push me away next time."

Callen looked back up at Sam completely this time and watched his partner for a moment. Sam knew it was a lot to ask, it was almost a rhetorical statement. He was surprised when Callen gave a small smile.

"I promise to try not to." He grinned. "You are getting a lot harder to push, you know. You should lay off the doughnuts."

Sam laughed in spite of himself, and felt the rift in their friendship begin to heal with the sound of Callen's chuckle joining in. Yes, he still trusted Callen-although he would be checking for his keys for a couple weeks-and he knew Callen trusted him. He would have never shared his past with him if he hadn't. He also knew Callen's biggest problem was he didn't trust himself. Maybe if he learned that; he would be able to have faith in others more.

_Listen to you; acting like Nate all of a sudden. _Sam thought with amusement at himself. He watched his partner for a second, realizing he hadn't responded to Callen's light joke yet. He also knew he didn't have to. Callen knew that Sam would take what he could get. That would have been the end of it…but something was still bugging him in the back of his mind.

"Hey…G?" He asked cautiously. "Can I ask you a question?"

Callen nodded. "I think I owe you that much."

"Damn straight you do!" Sam snorted. Callen made a face.

"When I stopped you from killing Kimball…" He trailed off, unsure how to continue. Callen's face went stony, but he nodded.

"If I hadn't been there…would you still have stopped?"

Sam believed so…he _wanted_ to believe so. But he wasn't sure; there had been something in Callen's face he had never seen before. He couldn't believe his partner would actually have killed Kimball; but that man he saw wasn't his partner. He had told Callen the truth; he had been scared by the actions Callen had been taking. But that was what had scared him the most; Callen hadn't been his partner in that moment. Or was he?

Callen looked in pain as he thought about his answer. Finally he seemed to arrive at the conclusion he wanted.

"I would like to think I would have. But I don't know." He said honestly. "I'm just glad I never have to find out."

Sam exhaled quietly. "Me too." He admitted.

"We good?" The look in Callen's eyes pained Sam. Callen knew Sam had every reason not to trust him then, he knew Sam had been angry, he knew Sam had been hurt. But the hope that his partner was still his friend was palpable, as was his fear that the answer would be no. His voice betrayed none of that emotion, but his eyes did.

"We're good." Sam nodded. He tossed a crumbled ball of paper over to Callen's desk suddenly, and his partner caught it effortlessly. "As I recall, we had a game to finish. I believe you said something about wiping the floor with me?"

Callen looked up, relief flooding his face as he realized he was forgiven. Not only had Sam forgiven him, he knew that Callen would not want to go home that night. "I feel like I should give you a handicap for playing at four in the morning."

"It's only two." Sam shot back.

Callen took the shot half-heartedly; his mind was elsewhere. Sam started laughing at Callen's miserable shot that had bounced off the trashcan into Deeks's leftover coffee cup, and he felt himself join in; their mirth combined into an amused harmony; soothing away the discordant memories jangling in his mind for the first time in a very long time.

Callen felt something that had been knotted in his stomach relax. Sam had forgiven him; he had almost been sure he wouldn't…that this whole situation-the memories, the anger, and the recklessness- would have been the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back. But it hadn't; they were still _them_, partners, friends…brothers.

And somehow, he felt they always would be.


End file.
